Coming Home
by callandra
Summary: David and Marko are the only survivors after the Emerson incident. Pretty sad summary, but the evil fairy wouldn't let go of my ear until I started this. Not sure where it's going. David/OC, maybe Marko/OC Later. Rated M to be safe, probably closer to T
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I obviously don't own anyone who was in the original movie; that would have made me a very wealthy 7 years old. This is my first Lost Boys rambling, so be nice. The evil fairy popped into my head, and won't leave me alone. Reviews are not met with screaming fury and vows of murder.**

**Another A/N: **_blah blah blah_ is a thought

_"blah blah blah" _is a mental conversation

Prologue……

David came around to the most excruciating pain he'd ever felt. He opened his eyes just slightly, to see the two antlers protruding through his body, impaling him. No wonder he felt such pain. The one had just barely missed piercing his heart.

He heard voices in the next room, and immediately shut his eyes. Michael must have believed he was dead, or he wouldn't have been left alone. What surprised him was that Star hadn't betrayed his continued existence. She'd drunk Max's blood, she was a member of the coven, even if she was a traitorous bitch. She would know he wasn't dead. He would have expected her to be waiting for him to come around, armed with Holy water and a stake.

"Dad".

Lucy, Michael's mother, and the woman Max had chosen. When had she shown up? She was supposed to be having dinner with Max. Had Max already turned her?

"One thing about Santa Carla I never could stomach. All the damn vampires."

The old man had to be Michael's grandfather. But David couldn't hear Max anywhere, which was strange. Max would be here by now. He would have felt the death of Marko, and Paul. He would have come the moment he felt Paul die. Where was Max?

David came to another startling revelation. He couldn't feel Star or Michael, though he could hear them in the next room. Their connection was broken, which could only hear one thing. Max would have to be dead. David tried to focus on finding Max, but couldn't feel anything. Max really was gone. All of them were gone. He was the only survivor.

He needed to get away, before someone decided to come back into this room. Gritting his teeth to keep from screaming, he managed to get to his feet. If he could get to the window without being seen, he could get out.

Careful to move as quietly as possible, he inched his way towards the window, and stopped at the wall dividing the rooms. He could hear them moving out of the room, checking the rest of the house. Good. This was his chance to get out. He stepped into the room and saw that the wall was gone. The old man must have driven into the wall without stopping. He stepped carefully over the debris, and froze when he heard his name.

"David."

He turned around to see Star behind him. He grabbed her wrists and pulled her to him, stopping when the tips of the antlers were pressing into her body.

"If I die, you die."

The look on her face was infinitely sad as she gently pulled free of his grip. She walked around behind him and took a grip on the antlers, pulling them out of his body.

"You should go. You have less than an hour until sunrise."

"If I find out you've told them I'm alive, I will come back and kill you."

The voices of the others were getting closer, they were coming back.

"Go David."

Star gave him a swift kiss, then pushed him out into the night. He could see that she hadn't exaggerated. He had less than an hour to get back to the cave and then find a safe place to go. This wouldn't ordinarily be a problem, but he'd been seriously injured. He ran a safe distance from the house, then tried to fly. It hurt like hell, but he was able to do it, albeit more slowly than normal.

As he approached the cave, he felt a faint stirring in his mind that almost knocked him out of the air.

_Marko?_

He pushed himself harder and made it back to the cave. He didn't bother with the main cavern, but flew straight back to their crypt. Marko lay on the floor where he'd fallen after those boys staked him. None of them had moved him; as soon as the sun set, they'd taken off for the Emerson house. David knelt by his brother's body and mentally called him.

"_Marko?"_

"_David?"_

He was still alive. Somehow he was still alive.

"Wha—?"

"Don't try to talk Marko."

They couldn't stay in the cave. Even if Star didn't tell Michael that he was alive, those Frog brothers would be back at the cave once they realized his body was missing. They wouldn't believe that his body just disappeared.

David carefully lifted Marko into his arms and carried him back into the main room. He stopped only long enough to rip open the mattress Laddie had slept on and grab their stashed money, then grabbed Marko and flew off. Looking at the sky, he estimated that they had no more than twenty minutes before sunrise. He was already starting to feel the drain. They had to find somewhere, and fast.

He flew to the outskirts of town, to an abandoned bed and breakfast. The house had been quite popular with the wealthy that flocked to Santa Carla at the turn of the century, those who didn't want to stay at the hotel resort. It hadn't been in use since the earthquake. Frankly, David was surprised it still stood, but it would have to do. They had only about fifteen minutes.

He opened the house and went down into the cellar. It was cold and dry, which was perfect. He carefully set Marko on the ground, and quickly searched the house for lamps. He found two that were intact, but needed fuel. There was a gas station not a mile up the road, and if he remembered correctly, they sold kerosene. He found an empty gas can and flew as if his life depended on it.

"_David? Where-"_

"_Hold on Marko. I'll be right back."_

"_It's almost sunrise."_

"_I'll make it."_

He returned with only a few minutes to spare, holding a container of kerosene, and a babbling homeless man. He tossed the man down into the cellar and quickly filled the lamps. He took them down into the cellar with him, barely pulling the door closed as the sun started to break through the building.

"_Hold on Marko."_

He had to get the stake out of Marko's body, and then they both needed blood. He set the lamps in a corner where they wouldn't get knocked over, and took a grip on the stake.

"I have to pull it out Marko. It's going to hurt."

"_Just get it out."_

He pulled with all of his remaining strength and Marko screamed as it came out. David threw the stake away, and dragged the still babbling man over to Marko. Marko sank his fans into the man's neck, drinking greedily. David picked up the man's wrist and drank. The single human really wasn't enough for the both of them, but it would have to last until the sun set, and they could go out. They drained the body dry, and collapsed against the walls. Marko was finally able to speak.

"Paul and Dwayne?"

"Gone. Max too. Get some sleep Marko. Tonight we leave Santa Carla."

He wasn't sure where they would go, but he knew they had to get away. Santa Carla was no longer safe.


	2. Chapter 2

Jeanne pushed her way through the crowded boardwalk, scanning the mass of people. Where was she? Celine had called not ten minutes before, in need of a ride. She'd sounded almost scared. Jeanne just hoped she hadn't gone off with anyone, or that Dane had found her again.

Some band was playing, and they sounded rather good, but Jeanne ignored them, looking for Celine. Ordinarily, the girl wasn't that hard to spot, with her wild blue hair and multiple piercings, but with the crowd this night, she blended right in. Jeanne was the one who looked out of place in her comfortable jeans and three-quarter sleeve shirt. She was easily ten years older than most of this group.

She was starting to get worried. Celine had called because Dane had shown up at her apartment, yelling threats and trying to break down the door. When he finally succeeded in forcing his way inside, Celine hit him over the head with a cast iron skillet, and ran. The boardwalk was a very public, very busy place, even at ten thirty at night. If Dane did recover enough to come after her, it would be hard with so many people around.

Jeanne pulled out her cell phone and redialed Celine's number. It rang a few times before it was answered, and she almost couldn't hear anything over the noise.

"Celine, where are you?"

"I'm over by the roller coaster. I couldn't just stand there with all those people."

Jeanne had momentarily forgotten, Celine was a slight agoraphobe. She wasn't so afraid of open spaces, but large numbers of people terrified her. Jeanne had learned firsthand the danger that Celine might have an attack, or freeze up to the point of not being able to move when surrounded by people. The airport incident was still fresh in her mind. At least Celine hadn't frozen up this time.

"Hang on, I'll be right there."

She didn't notice the ghostly pale, blonde man who watched her every move as she pressed her way through the crowd, toward the roller coaster. Since she didn't see him to begin with, she never noticed when he left his curly-haired friend to start following her.

David followed the woman along the boardwalk. They'd been back in Santa Carla for a week, and come out to the boardwalk every night, but this was the first time he'd ever seen her. She'd grabbed his attention the moment she walked past them, and David knew her scent would be forever imprinted in his mind. His fangs instinctively elongated with the urge to claim this strange creature for his own. He couldn't begin to say why, but he felt as though he knew this woman, although they'd never met.

She was ignoring everyone around her, walking with a determined step. This was a woman on a mission. David guessed her to be in her late twenties, possibly close to thirty. She was definitely out of place among the usual crowd at the boardwalk.

He watched as she made her way over to the roller coaster, obviously looking for someone. David felt an irrational surge of jealousy at the thought of her meeting another man.

_Snap out of it boy, _he mentally ordered himself.

"_David, you okay?"_

He knew that Marko was concerned, he was certainly acting strange.

"_I'm fine. I think I found my dinner," _he lied. He had no intention of feeding off of this woman. He wanted to know who she was.

He relaxed as soon as he saw her meet another woman. A blue haired young woman, who could possibly bear a slight resemblance to her, if not for the hair and piercings. As he got closer, he could smell the other woman's blood as well. It was similar to his woman's, but not the same. They were certainly related, most likely siblings. He stayed far enough away that he wouldn't be noticed, but close enough to hear them talking. His vampiric hearing told him they were arguing.

"Celine, you have to call the cops on this," Jeanne glared at her younger sister. Celine's lip was still bleeding, and her eye was almost swollen shut. Still, Celine was refusing to blame Dane, claiming it was an accident. Jeanne knew she was lying through her teeth.

"I shouldn't have called you. I knew you'd say something like this. You've never liked Dane, I don't know why."

"I don't like him because he's using you as a punching bag! Remember the restraining order last month? You didn't take it out because he's such a great guy!"

"He IS a great guy!. He just has a few issues! He gets insecure, and worries that I'll dump him-"

"And you should! Celine, he clearly isn't going to just come to his senses! He could end up killing you!"

They were yelling loud enough to draw attention, and Jeanne dropped her voice.

"What do you call this, Celine?" she asked quietly. The fire seemed to leave her sister once the yelling stopped, and the younger girls lip trembled.

"He just got angry when I wouldn't open the door. I shouldn't have locked him out."

"Don't do that Celine. It's not your fault. It's his. C'mon, we'll go back to my building."

"No. I have to get back to the apartment. He'll be furious when he wakes up."

"If you think I'm letting you anywhere near him again you're crazy!"

'You're not my mother, Jeanne!"

Jeanne was tempted to leave Celine there with the growing crowds, until she saw the younger girls eyes tearing up. She often forgot how young the girl really was. Ten years younger than Jeanne, she had just turned nineteen. And she'd been without any real family since she was sixteen. She was trying to play at being an adult with no idea of how to do so. And she was scared. Jeanne could see it in her eyes.

"I know I'm not our mother, Celine. But if she was here right now, she would say exactly what I'm saying; get away from Dane before he takes your life. Come with me now."

She waited several tense seconds until Celine nodded her agreement. The argument over, Jeanne wrapped an arm around her sister's shoulders and guided her back down the boardwalk, towards her car. She still didn't see the platinum haired young man watching them walk away.

"_Are you going to drain her or what?"_

"_Not tonight. Let's hit the beach. I'm sure there are a few Surf Nazi's down there."_

"_Not exactly what I craved for dinner tonight."_

David just rolled his eyes as he rejoined his brother. He didn't really want to go after the local gang members either, but he didn't trust himself on the boardwalk tonight. He might follow Jeanne if he stuck around.

_Jeanne. French. What on earth brought her to Santa Carla? I'll have to find her again. Soren would love her._

He smiled at that thought. Soren. Max's sire. When they'd fled Santa Carla twenty years before, they went directly to Soren. Soren had shared a single mental connection with David before claiming that it was no wonder they were complete savages, with the way Max ran the coven. He immediately set out to turn his two surviving "grandsons" into civilized vampires. Yes, Soren would like this Jeanne.

They rode out to the beach, parking their bikes some distance from the bonfire. David briefly touched the mind of the leader; they were all high or drunk, celebrating their latest break-in of a store. Twenty years with Soren, and David developed the habit of scanning his victim's minds. Knowing they were evil people somehow made them taste better, in Soren's opinion at rate. David thought knowing they were evil just helped to ease the conscience, for thost that still had them.

He nodded once at Marko, and the pair flew at the small gathering, quickly taking their fill. David loved being able to hunt on his own again, without Soren watching over his shoulder. He'd been worse than Max in many ways.

Once they'd taken all they wanted, they dumped the bodies on the bonfire. One thing Soren had managed to impress upon David was the need for greater discretion than they'd shown before. No more ripping limbs off, or causing unnecessary destruction. Less attention by the public was crucial if they were going to re-inhabit Santa Carla.

They rode back to the cave once they cleaned up the mess, and stashed the bikes.

"_Home sweet home" _Marko chanted in his head. David had been ambivalent about going back to the cave, but it was their home. Best place to go. Marko had done considerable redecorating to the cave, and had even managed to steal electricity and water from a nearby hotel that had gone up in the years they'd been gone. The old fountain was, of course, still there, and Marko had replaced Star's old bed with more masculine couches. It would prove useful when they started bringing dinner home, instead of always eating out. David briefly entertained thoughts of Jeanne on that couch, but cut off the X-rated images when Marko smirked at him.

"_I knew you weren't going to eat her."_

"_Shut up and go to sleep. The sun will be up soon."_

"_The sun won't be up for at least three hours. Why don't you go find your lady?"_

"_Leave it, Marko."_

Marko's smirk grew broader, but he left David and headed for the back caverns. They'd decided to sleep in a new caver, which was just as dark, but had room for real furniture, so they each had a comfortable bad, not a bar that mean hanging from the roof, to sleep in. Marko certainly preferred the new arrangements. David would even admit that there were some things Soren was right about, such as using a bed.

Turning on a light, Marko grabbed a book and settled into bed. He would leave the subject of the woman alone tonight. There was, after all, plenty of time to find out who she was.


	3. Chapter 3

It was almost dark when Jeanne made her way back along the boardwalk. It had been an exhausting day, dealing with Celine, who was once again thinking that going back to Dane was the solution to her problems. As if going back to that abusive bully would solve anything.

To add insult to injury, she'd found a skeleton in the cellar of the house she'd just bought. Instead of spending afternoon on the beach, as she'd planned, she'd had to spend it being completely unable to answer the myriad questions from the police. Did she have any idea who it could be? No, of course not, she just moved her. When did she buy the house? Last week, this was her first opportunity to check it out. Who else had access to the house? Well, it had been on the market for the last century, so did they mean who else had access besides the teenagers who liked to break into abandoned buildings, the drunks who wandered too far away from town, and realtors who'd attempted to sell the house during that time? Sarcasm probably was not the best way to go with the police, but honestly, what could they expect? She'd only been in Santa Carla for three weeks. She'd only come back to the States six months ago. How much help could she be in identifying a skeleton that looked to have been down there at least a decade?

Needing to decompress after that lovely afternoon, she decided to come down to the Boardwalk and explore. Her trip down last night to find Celine hadn't offered her much chance to look around, tonight she wanted to wander. She'd invited Celine, but that girl had refused, choosing to stay in instead. Jeanne had agreed only because security knew what Dane looked like, and they wouldn't let him in the building. She did worry about what might happen if he convinced Celine to go back to him.

The Boardwalk was busy, at the moment more with families and younger children. Jeanne knew they would disappear as it grew later, when the die-hard partiers came out to see whatever band was playing tonight. She found a stall where the vendor was displaying jewelry, and stopped to take a look. She hadn't brought much of the family jewelry with her from France, feeling that most of it was far too formal for the States. It was fine for state dinners and such, when she'd had to attend them with her father, but not for normal wear. Some of them were centuries old, jewelry most women would kill for, but Jeanne almost never wore it. She preferred simpler pieces, such as the ones on display before her.

Her gaze landed on a necklace that was set with dark blue stones, and she picked it up. She liked this; the stones were unique, and the light played off them beautifully.

"You have good taste."

She turned around to see who'd spoken, and saw an impossibly pale young man with blonde hair, smirking at her.

"I'm so glad you approve. My day is now complete."

She turned her attention back to the vendor, who was asking if she wanted a b ox, or if she wanted to wear it. She declined the gift box, choosing to wear it. The stones matched the shirt she was wearing, and after her day, she wanted something nice.

She paid the vendor, then reached beneath her hair to fasten the necklace, and froze when she felt cool fingers touching hers, taking over the process. When they lingered just a moment too long, she knew who it was. She accepted the receipt from the vendor and continued on her way. The blonde fell into step beside her.

"Can I help you with something?"

"Just escorting you to your next destination. It's not that safe walking around by yourself here, especially at night."

"And you're going to protect me from them, are you?"

"Of course. My mother raised me better than to leave a lady on her own."

She looked over at him, but his expression was one of practiced innocence. She could almost believe him, but the glint in his eyes gave him away.

"And how many times has that line worked for you?"

He smiled at that. Jeanne would admit that he had a beautiful smile.

"You would be the first to refuse me."

"I think your ego can take the bruising."

"Don't you at least want to know my name before completely shooting me down?"

"I'm fine without it."

"You ARE fine without it, but that's not the point. I'm David."

She walked faster, but he kept pace easily.

"If you don't tell me your name I'm just going to have to make one up for you."

She smiled. This David was persistent, she would give him that.

"Jeanne."

"No way! That's the name I was going to make up for you!"

The families were starting to move on, and the partiers were moving in. Jeanne could hear the screams from the roller coaster and the tilt-a-whirl, and the smell of alcohol was starting to fill the air.

"What do you say we go grab dinner, or a drink somewhere?"

"Are you old enough to drink?"

He looked closer to Celine's age than her own, but he might be twenty-one. He laughed at the question, as if it was some sort of joke.

"Yes, Jeanne, I'm old enough to drink. Now how about it?"

She stopped walking and looked at him more closely. She wasn't in the habit of having drinks with perfect strangers, especially strangers who looked like they would fit in at a biker bar. This David was dressed in head to toe black, and there was something in his expression that hinted at a hidden dangerousness. She wondered what he would do if she refused him. So far he'd been only polite, but that didn't mean anything. He was waiting for her answer, certain she wouldn't refuse.

"I guess you're safe enough."

"How very disappointing. I know a little just down the Boardwalk."

She let him guide her down the boardwalk and they passed a brightly lit comic book store. Standing in the aisles, sorting comics, was a man who appeared to be in his thirties, who was focused intently on what he was doing. His hair was fairly shaggy, and he looked as if he hadn't shaved in days. He looked up as they walked past, and his face hardened as he looked at David. Jeanne noticed that David just smirked at him, and guided her past the store.

"What was that about? Did you steal his comics when you were a child or something?"

"We go back a long way. He just hates me. Don't worry about him."

They walked a little further and came to a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant Jeanne had never notice before. David held the door open for her, and she was surprised to see that it wasn't what she had expected. The interior was dimly lit, but neat, not at all grungy or dirty. The seating hostess looked at David with obvious interest, but took them to a back booth and gave them menus.

"I've never noticed this place before. How did you know it was here?"

"I've been here a few times. It's been awhile though."

The last time he'd been here, he'd brought Star, before taking her back to the cave. More than twenty years ago. He'd been surprised to learn that it was still open.

"How long have you lived here?"

"We just moved back a week or so ago. We lived here for several years before we had to move. And you? How long have you been in town? I can tell from the accent that you're not local."

"And I thought I was blending in so well."

He smiled at her sarcasm, but waited for her to answer.

"I've been here for about three weeks. I moved to take care of my younger sister."

David nodded. That must have been who she was arguing with last night. The waitress brought out their drinks and a plate of bread, while he processed the little information she'd given him. He would have to guess her parents weren't in the picture if she was the one to take care of her sister.

"Where did you come from?"

"Lots of different places. Most recently from New York, but before that, Prague."

"Prague to Santa Carla. Must have been quite a culture shock. Prague was always a beautiful city."

'You've been to Prague?" she asked, surprised, and he turned his smirk on her.

"Yes, I've been to Prague. And Copenhagen. And Lausanne."

"I'm impressed. And here I was thinking that you were nothing more than a dumb surfer boy who had sex with anything silicone."

He laughed outright at that. It was a spot-on description of the Surf Nazis, the gang that liked to think they ruled Santa Carla.

"_David? Where'd you go?"_

"_I'm having dinner. I'll be back on the boardwalk soon. Where are you?"_

"_Chasing down a few Surf Nazis, wanna join me?"_

"_I think I'll pass on that."_

"_You're with that woman, aren't yo?. How's her blood taste?"_

"_Watch it, Marko."_

"_Touchy. What is it with this chica?"_

Jeanne watched as one second David laughed at her comment, the next he froze. He was sitting at the table, but he was clearly somewhere else. Whatever was going on in his head, he didn't look happy.

"David?"

He didn't answer, appearing to be lost in thought. He looked as if he was growing even angrier.

"David. You okay?"

He finally broke and looked at her.

"Sorry. You were saying?"

"You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. So, tell me how you wound up coming here from Europe."

She looked at him, concerned, but started talking again. Whatever just happened, he obviously wanted to just ignore it. She could understand that. She was surprised to discover when the waitress arrived with the check that more than an hour had passed. She hadn't even noticed. This was the longest time Jeanne had spent talking with someone in a long time. She automatically reached for the check, but David took it so smoothly she almost missed it. He handed a fifty dollar bill to the waitress and told her to keep the change, then stood and waited for Jeanne.

She preceded him out the door, back onto the boardwalk. As they passed the comic store, she couldn't help but notice the glare the older man directed at them. He was really starting to creep her out. David returned the glare with a heated look of his own.

The ringing over Jeanne's cell phone snapped both their attention, and she pulled it out to check the number.

"I'm sorry, I need to answer this," she shrugged apologetically, and turned her attention to the call.

"Hello? MIsha? It's so early for you, is everything alright?"

David was surprised as she rattled off in Russian to whoever was on the other end of the line. He'd picked up a few languages during his immortal life, which had impressed Soren. It stood him in good stead as he listened to Jeanne's conversation. He knew that they were still being watched, and he rested a hand possessively on Jeanne's shoulder. A slight widening of the eyes was the only reaction the gesture elicited. David considered that to be a good sign.

When Marko joined them, David gave him a warning nod in the direction of the comic store. Marko just grinned his Cheshire car grin and waved, drawing a growl from the man inside. He would have come out, but David's hand tightened ever so visibly on Jeanne's shoulder, and he stopped. David smiled. He knew Edgar wouldn't risk killing an innocent "civilian". Jeanne shot David a dirty look at the tighter grip, but finished her phone call. Flipping her phone shut, she rounded on him.

"Are you trying to break my collarbone?"

"Jeanne, this is Marko. Marko, Jeanne."

Jeanne nodded at the young man, who looked even younger than David. She would have guessed him to be about eighteen, maybe nineteen. He had curly hair that most women would kill for, and a grin that would put the Cheshire cat to shame. He was smiling at her, a smile that said he knew something she didn't. It was unnerving.

Her cell phone rang again, and Jeanne sighed, checking the number. It was Celine. She flipped it open.

"Celine? What's wrong?"

David watched as the look of irritation on her face changed to a look of concern.

"I'll be right there. Don't go down to the lobby, whatever you do."

She hung up and pulled her keys out of her purse.

"An emergency at home. I have to go."

David plucked the memory of the conversation from her thoughts, and his eyes narrowed. Someone was threatening Jeanne's sister. He managed to choke back the growl that was trying to escape.

"I'll see you tomorrow night then."

"I'm not sure I'll make it to the boardwalk tomorrow night."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Jeanne."

She walked off in the direction of the parking lot, not even acknowledging David's statement. She had more important things to worry about than her new acquaintances. Dane was trying to get to Celine, and when security wouldn't let him into the building, he'd started calling Celine, making threats. Jeanne wasn't going to stand for that.

She made it back to the building in record time, to see Dane still standing outside. He appeared to be drunk, again.

"Where's Celine, you bitch? I know she's up there."

"Go home and sleep it off, Dane. You're not getting in."

He stopped her in front of the door, blocking her entrance. She saw the security guard watching from inside the door.

"Tell her to come down here. I wanna talk to her."

"Not a chance, Dane. Leave her alone."

He grabbed her arm and pulled, hard. Jeanne had had enough, and smacked him across the face. He pulled out a knife and flipped it open, waving it threateningly in her face.

"Now, you're gonna take me to see Celine, you got that?"

"You call that a knife?"

She used her free hand to grab his wrist, and with a swift kick to the groin her other hand was released. She wasted no time in removing the knife from his grip and pulling out her own bowie knife, much bigger than his switchblade. She brought the tip of the knife up to his throat, as the security guard hurried out the door to them.

"Listen carefully Dane. My sister is no longer your punching bag. You leave her alone, or the next time, I will not show restraint. Is that in any way unclear? Nod your head if you understand me," she ordered when he didn't answer.

The knife point must have gotten through his alcohol muddled brain, because he nodded, giving her a hateful glare. The security guard was talking into his radio as he cuffed Dane, and the night manager was calling the police. With the guard momentarily distracted, Dane grabbed his switchblade from where it had landed and swung at Jeanne, slicing her arm from elbow to wrist. Jeanne again kicked him in the groin as the security guard tackled him to the ground. Jeanne quickly clamped her hand to the wound, but it was bleeding freely. She knew she wouldn't be able to sustain much blood loss.

"You need an ambulance, Miss de Laurent. You'll bleed to death with that."

The night manager came out with a towel, again on the phone, and Jeanne quickly wrapped the towel tightly around her arm, and sank down against the door.

David and Marko were riding down the road when they caught the scent. Blood, and a lot of it.

"_You wanna go check it out? Maybe dinner's easy tonight."_

"_I know that scent."_

_Jeanne. _It was her blood, no doubt, and David started following the scent. It took them to the most exclusive condos in Santa Carla, an area they hardly ever hunted. When affluent people disappeared, it was noticed.

As they pulled into the parking lot, David could tell that she was losing more blood than they'd thought, and much more than she could afford to lose. She would need a significant transfusion.

"_David! You can't go up to her like that! Get it together!"_

As David hopped off his bike, he noticed that his fangs had elongated and his face had changed. He fought to bring himself under control as he approached Jeanne.

"Jeanne?! Can you hear me?"

The security guard tried to block his way, and David thought he might rip the man's throat out, until Jeanne spoke.

"It's alright Morris. I know them."

Morris didn't look entirely convinced, but he let David and Marko pass. David steeled himself not to react to the sight and scent of her blood everywhere, as he gently took her arm. The bleeding wasn't slowing and David removed his belt, using it as a tourniquet above the wound.

"I leave you alone for five minutes and look what happens."

She laughed weakly at that and he checked the towel. It was soaked, but it looked as if the tourniquet was starting to do its job. The bleeding was slowing. She looked at him uneasily when he looked up at her.

"Your eyes—"

He looked back down and tightened the tourniquet.

"Merde!" she hissed through clenched teeth.

"Sorry."

"Miss de Laurent?"

David looked up when the guard started calling Jeanne, but she didn't answer. Her eyes were half closed, she must be near passing out.

"Jeanne, wake up. Don't pass out on me now."

She fought to stay awake, and he used the opportunity to slip into her mind and find out what happened. He was impressed that she moved the knife so easily, and surprised that she carried a bowie knife on her. He would have to remember that.

Dane was trying to get up, but Marko held him down on the ground with one foot. The sirens grew louder as the ambulance and police car pulled into the lot. David could see people looking out of their windows, wanting to be nosy. Two medics jumped out of the cab, and one stopped at the back to pull out a stretcher as they made their way over to them. David almost snarled when he saw one of the medics. Could this night get any worse?

In her semi-conscious state, Jeanne could almost have sworn that one of the medics froze when he saw David. What was it about this young man that put people off? The medic focused on her arm, quickly removing the towel and applying a pressure bandage. The other medic was shining a light in her eyes, and she blinked. The tourniquet was inspected, and left in place.

"Alright, Miss de Laurent, we're going to put you on the stretcher and move you to the ambulance. Can you stand?"

She tried to stand up, but decided it wasn't worth the effort. She felt herself being lifted easily and transferred to the stretcher. The medics strapped her in, and lifted her into the ambulance. The medic who'd glared at David climbed in the back with her, and tried to pull the door closed on David. David looked as if he might attack, but Jeanne stopped him.

"Celine is waiting for me. Can you--?"

"I'll bring her."

David ignored Michael Emerson's glare and shut the door, allowing the ambulance to pull off. The boy who'd attacked Jeanne had been ignored by David in the urgency of stopping Jeanne's bleeding, but he now had David's full attention as the police loaded him into the back of the cruiser.

"_David?"_

"_I'm going to take Jeanne's sister to the hospital. Find out what they do with that boy."_

"_And if they let him out tonight?"_

"_Then I want to know. We'll have some fun with him, like we used to."_

Marko smiled at that . He didn't know why this particular human was so important to David, but the fact that she was meant that Marko looked after her. He would enjoy making this foolish boy suffer.


	4. Chapter 4

**Business First: I don't own The Lost Boys. That would be great, but no. However, if you didn't see it on the big screen, it came out of my own little world. Also, I love reviews. I really, really love reviews. If you have an opinion, I'd like to hear it, and I'll send imaginary chocolate chip cookies!!**

"They still haven't found any sign of him," Celine muttered worriedly, hanging up the phone. Jeanne couldn't bring herself to worry about Dane, or the fact that he'd gone missing since his Surf Nazi friends bailed him out of jail after the assault. Jeanne wasn't surprised he'd run away; he'd failed to intimidate her into dropping the charges, despite his threats while she sat bleeding. He would actually have to go before a judge this time.

"I'm sure he's just left town Celine. Hopefully for good."

"Don't say that, Jeanne. He has to come back."

'If he knows what's good for him, he has to stay away. I meant it when I said that if he ever sticks a knife in my face again, he loses a body part."

"He wouldn't really try to hurt you Jeanne."

Jeanne refused to even acknowledge that foolish statement. Instead, she concentrated on the furniture samples that had been sent over. She liked the oak finish for the furniture in most of the rooms. For the master bedroom, however, she wanted something different. Perhaps mahogany, although she did like the walnut as well. Perhaps, for her room, she would buy unfinished furniture and finish it herself, once she found what she liked.

"Jeanne, you're not listening. I need to find Dane."

"I heard you Celine, I just can't agree with you. You're much better off without him. Find someone who deserves you."

"You would say that. Just because you don't want me to have a boyfriend? Even though you have one who's way too young for you!"

Jeanne did look over at Celine at that remark.

"What are you talking about? What boyfriend?"

"That blonde biker boy who's way too young for you! He's, like, my age! It should be illegal! It's just gross!"

Jeanne looked at Celine as if she'd grown two heads. The girl was losing it.

"First of all, David is not my boyfriend. Second, even if he was, he's over twenty-one, and I'm not even thirty. That's hardly robbing the cradle."

She held up the two samples in the light, trying to decide which she liked best. No good. They would look completely different in the house than they did here in the condo. She needed to see them in the rooms. Making up her mind, she grabbed her purse and her keys.

"I'm going out to the house to put them up over there. I might stay and get some painting done. Do you want to come with me?"

"You're going to leave me here?! Just to meet your boyfriend! I can see how it's going to be now. Run off to your boy toy as soon as you can, because you can't stand to be around me!"

"Enough!" Jeanne all but yelled. She'd had enough. She'd been house bound for three weeks because of her injuries, and she'd listened to the same arguments from her sister over and over. She could not take any more.

"Enough, Celine. I will not listen any longer to your ranting about being unloved and abandoned. Our father tried for years to find you, because he loved you. If I didn't love you, I wouldn't be here now, I would be in Prague! I'm sorry you're so upset over Dane's disappearance, but I can't pretend to be sad that he's gone!"

Celine looked almost scared as she backed away from Jeanne's tirade. She'd never seen her sister so angry. Jeanne tried to soften her tone for the younger girl's sake, when she spoke again.

"As I said, I'm going to the house to start painting, now that I finally can. I'm not going to meet David, or anyone else. You are welcome to come with me, or stay here if you prefer, but I will not listen to your nonsense any longer."

"Stop treating me like a child, Jeanne. I'm an adult!"

"Then act like one!" Jeanne snapped as she grabbed her cell phone and headed out the door. Celine just watched her leave, her mouth set in a stubborn pout, which Jeanne ignored. She stepped off the elevator to see Morris standing security again.

"Good evening, Miss Laurent. How are you feeling tonight?"

"Much better Morris, thank you."

"Can I call a car for you, Miss Laurent?"

"No thank you, Morris. I'll drive myself tonight."

She ignored his protests and smiled sweetly as she walked out the door to her car. It felt so good to finally be free of the condo. She was at her house in ten minutes, opening the door. She did a brief walk through of the kitchen, which contained the entrance to the cellar. Crime scene tape was still up. The police had been more than happy to destroy her kitchen, but they hadn't bothered to clean up their mess. The crew doing the remodel was only concerned with the walls and floors, which had been replaced before the discovery of the skeleton, so they ignored everything else.

Jeanne decided to ignore it for the time being. She wanted to get some real work done today, not clean up a mess. Instead, she stepped into the main room on the ground floor, what would become the living room. The pain cans, tape, drop clothes and brushes had all been delivered during her convalescence, and she quickly set to work getting the room ready. In less than ten minutes she was barefoot, with her jeans roller up, her hair pulled back, and pouring paint into the trays.

By the time Jeanne finished the first wall, the sun began to set. She turned on the lights and kept working, in no mood to go back and deal with Celine again. Her Bluetooth started ringing loudly in her ear, but with her phone on the other side of the room, she couldn't see who was calling.

"Hello? Celine, there is plenty of food in the refrigerator, just cook something for yourself. No, I don't know when I'm coming back, I'm in the middle of painting the living room. I'll go as long as I can, so don't wait up."

Celine hung up on her, and Jeanne went back to work, muttering to herself.

"You know, you really shouldn't say such things about your own sister."

Jeanne spun around, eyes wide, to see David and Marko standing in the open doorway. She was less surprised by the fact that they knew where to find her than by the fact that David had spoken to her in flawless French. She had a tendency to fall back into French when she was upset.

"Can we come in?"

"How did you find me? Are you stalking me now?"

"Of course," David answered with his customary smirk. Marko just waved at her. They'd been regular visitors to the condo since the incident. Jeanne had been surprised to find she quite enjoyed their company. The two young men were full of surprises. From their conversations, Jeanne had discovered David to be quite educated. More so than many of the people she'd met in Santa Carla.

"Can we come in?" David asked again.

"Only if I can put you to work. Grab a brush and get to it."

The both removed their coats before they came in and laid them over the porch railing. David grabbed a roller and dipped it into the tray, standing beside Jeanne to work.

"So, how did you find me? I can't imagine Celine would tell you where I went."

"No, she didn't. We were actually just riding past and saw the lights on, and decided to come by."

"Lucky for you, now you get free labor. All you have to do is feed us," Marko added.

"I think I can handle that. What do you like on your pizza?"

She grabbed her phone from her purse and started to dial information when David stopped her.

"Why don't you let Marko go get it? He can pick up some drinks on the way."

"Yeah, I'm happy to make a pizza run."

Jeanne pulled out her wallet and gave Marko some money.

"_Make sure you feed while you're at it," _David ordered him. That was the real reason he sent Marko away. The younger vampire hadn't fed before coming to Jeanne, and he was in bad shape, regardless of how he tried to hide it. If they'd gone to the condo, he probably would have attacked someone. Marko couldn't go quite as long as David could without feeding. Marko left the two of them alone, and Jeanne went back to her painting.

"So, what did your sister do that you called her a 'worthless son of a motherless goat'?"

"It's not polite to eavesdrop."

"No, but it is informative. What did she do?"

"I didn't know you spoke French."

"I speak a few languages. Stop evading the question."

"She's just being a foolish teenager. No one loves her, her life is so terrible, it isn't fair that my life is so wonderful while hers is crap. The usual."

David just watched her. This looked like far more than normal irritating teenager issues.

"I see. And what sparked this particular fit?"

He couldn't say why any of this was important to him, except that Jeanne was upset, and he didn't like seeing that.

"That worthless boyfriend of hers, the one who attacked me? He's gone missing. His friends managed to post his bail that night, and he hasn't been seen since."

David gritted his teeth. The boy hadn't been seen because his body was lying in the bottom of the Pacific. He and Marko had quite enjoyed torturing that poor human. There hadn't been much left of him to identify by the time they were through.

"I see."

"And because I'm not saddened by his absence, I don't want her to be happy. I don't love her, even though I moved continents as soon as I found out she was alive. And apparently, I can't stand to be in her company, so tonight I ran off to meet you. I couldn't possibly be painting my house like I told her I was."

"Ran off to meet me?"

Jeanne rolled her eyes. He would pick up on that particular point.

"Yes. I invited her to come paint with me, but she got it into her head that I was really meeting you, because you're my, oh, what was the phrase? Boy toy, I think it was. Which is apparently quite gross, as I am entirely too old for you. All of this is, of course, according to a girl who I can't possibly love."

David thought he was beginning to understand a bit more. Jeanne had moved from Europe for a much younger sister, who was all but blaming her for the loss of one of the most worthless men on the planet. He'd touched Dane's mind, Celine wasn't the first girl he'd beaten up. He'd beaten more than one to death. He would have done the same thing to her. Jeanne was more patient than David. If one of the boys had behaved that badly, they would have been staked.

He was pleased that Celine thought he was Jeanne's boyfriend. He and Marko had spent almost every night with them since the attack. He couldn't remember the last time he had enjoyed a human's company so much. He was beginning to see why Max had been so fixed on the idea of Lucy Emerson. Jeanne Laurent helped him to forget, just for awhile, what a monster he really was. She reminded him of what it felt to be human.

"I'm not sure I agree with the term 'boy toy', and I don't think you're too old for me, so I'd have to say that Celine is full of it. But she could be half right."

"What do you mean?" Jeanne asked him, puzzled.

"About the boyfriend thing. I wouldn't say she's a complete liar."

He smirked at her as her mouth fell open. She stood there, trying to think of some answer, but came up with no response. She went back to painting with a fury, and soon they had the large wall painted. David let her work out her confusion, without saying anything more. He hadn't planned on telling her even that much.

They were well into the third wall when Marko returned carrying two pizzas and grocery bags.

"I took a wild guess that you didn't have any plates or cups."

"Marko, you're an angel."

"Where do you want this stuff?"

"Just put it in the kitchen. Oh, and watch out for the crime scene tape!" she yelled after him. She set her brush down in paint tray and headed for the food, David following her.

"Crime scene?"

"Yes. I discovered a skeleton in my cellar a few weeks ago. The night I met you two, actually."

"_David, do you realize where we are? This is the same house!"_

"_I know Marko. Calm down. They only found a skeleton. It's been twenty years."_

"A skeleton in the cellar? You've had an interesting move to Santa Carla."

"I would say so. I should go back to that realtor and break his legs. I told him to make sure there were no surprises with the property. My first trip through the house I climb into the cellar and find a skeleton."

She pulled paper plates and cups out the bags as she talked, and opened the ice Marko had thought to buy. She filled three cups with ice and poured the soda, not really paying any attention to David and Marko.

"_David, you know we can't leave her alive!"_

"_Marko, nothing about a skeleton found in this cellar can possibly connect to us."_

"_We can't take that chance. Do you want that Frog idiot to come after us again?!"_

"So, the cops spent the entire afternoon grilling me about a skeleton that had clearly been down there longer than I've been back in the States. That's why I wound up at the Boardwalk that night. I think some homeless man had been camping out down there, I found lamps and kerosene, and some kind of wooden stake. I would have to guess that maybe he fell down the stairs and landed on the stake or something. What a painful way to die."

_Marko was right._ They would have to kill her. She knew too much, even if she did come to the wrong, but more logical, conclusion.

"_David, I know this woman is making you crazy, but you know we can't leave her alive with this!_ _If the cops have that stake-"_

"_Keep it together Marko!"_

Seeing that the two males were making no move to the food, Jeanne put pizza on a plate and sat on the floor.

"You two haven't suddenly lost your appetite, have you? You haven't even seen the stake yet."

"You still have the stake?" Marko asked incredulously.

"I do. With only a skeleton, that was pretty intact, and no other remains, it wouldn't have helped the police any. So I kept it. Pretty macabre, I know."

"_Calm down Marko. The cops don't have the stake. We don't have to kill her."_

He could almost sigh with relief. There was nothing to tie them to the skeleton, and Jeanne had no idea of the truth. They had no reason to kill her. It was as if the mood in the room suddenly lifted, and David and Marko helped themselves to the pizza. Once they finished eating, they went back to work, and by the time Jeanne was ready to quit, they'd painted the entire downstairs.

"I should hire you two for all the work on the house. I think we accomplished more in one night than those remodelers did in a week."

"We'll see you tomorrow night, Jeanne." Marko said his goodbyes, stepping out into the night. David shrugged into his jacket, and Jeanne had to laugh when she saw that he had green pain in his hair.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing. Green looks good on you."

He touched his hair and realized that it did feel stiff in places. He wondered how much paint had gotten in his hair.

"Go home and wash it out."

"Why don't I stay here and you can help me?"

"I-uh-"

"I'll see you tomorrow Jeanne.'

_Infuriating man!_ She didn't hear David laugh as he picked up that thought.

David flew back into the cave a few minutes behind Marko. He'd stopped to feed after leaving Jeanne's house, sinking his fangs into a woman who somewhat resembled Jeanne. He knew it wouldn't satisfy him; it wasn't just Jeanne's blood he wanted, and a pale imitation did nothing.

_David, you're losing it. Get a grip._

He could tell as soon as he stepped into the cave that Marko wasn't alone. _Soren? _Sure enough, Soren was sitting on the leather couch, and open book on his lap.

"Soren."

"Hello David. It is good to see you."

"What brings you to Santa Carla?"

"It's been almost two months. I wanted to see how you were settling in. You remodeled your old cave. Are you certain it's wise to come back here?"

"It's home, Soren. No one remembers it anymore."

He felt Soren probing his mind, and he kept his thoughts carefully blank.

"You hide from me, David? What are you so afraid I will find?"

David looked blankly at Soren. Soren just watched him, waiting for him to make a mistake. But David had learned to shield his mind from Max. He wouldn't make a mistake. Finally Soren gave a mental shrug and let it go. David knew that was only a temporary reprieve, but he would take it.

"How long are you staying?"

"I thought perhaps a few weeks. I've never visited the West Coast. My trips to America are usually restricted to New York."

"Are you staying here?"

David didn't want him in the cave with them, but he was bound to offer his "grandsire" hospitality.

"No, no. I'm staying at the hotel. I wouldn't dream of invading your home."

His mind was another matter entirely, and David knew it. He was going to have to be careful with Soren around. Keeping a human lover wasn't unusual, it helped to maintain the façade of humanity. However, if Soren though Jeanne was a threat to them, he would kill her without hesitation.

"We'll have to show you Santa Carla at night. I think you might enjoy it. The nightlife can be quite entertaining."

"Perhaps we will see tomorrow. I much be going now. Sunrise is in an hour. I will meet you here tomorrow night."

With that, he picked up his book and climbed the entrance to the cave, then flew off.

_Damn._


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: If I owned them, I would totally rock, but I'm not that lucky. If it was in the movie, it's not mine. If it wasn't in the movie, it's mine. I love reviews!!!!!**

Jeanne walked slightly behind Celine as they browsed the comic book store. She had no real interest in comics, but Celine loved them, and they had reached a tentative truce last night when she returned to the condo. Celine was happily losing herself in the comics surrounding her.

After a few minutes browsing, Jeanne felt eyes on her, and turned around to see the man who'd glared at her David that night. He was watching her intently.

"You can stop staring at any time."

"You're new to Santa Carla."

It was a statement, not a question, and Jeanne felt her annoyance growing.

"Do you always harass your customers, or is it just my lucky day?"

"Have you notice anything unusual about Santa Carla?"

"No. Just the usual beach town filled with tourists, drunks and runaways."

"And the undead. You should really be careful about the company you keep."

The undead?! Had this man sniffed too many markers as a child or something?

"I'm sorry, but you're not making any sense, Mister-"

"Frog. Edgar Frog."

"Mr. Frog. So, what exactly are you talking about, Frogman?"

"Vampires. Santa Carla is crawling with them."

"Really. And how many vampires have you seen in Santa Carla?"

"Two. Your friends. But one of them shouldn't be alive. I staked him, twenty years ago."

Jeanne kept her face carefully blank, thankful for the years of training in school. She'd been ready to dismiss this man's ramblings as the effects of too many drugs, but he'd just confessed to murder. She couldn't discount his claim of staking someone when she'd found a skeleton and stake in her cellar.

"I'm not crazy. They're vampires. Twenty years ago I staked the little one with the curly hair. David and two others came after us. My brother and I killed the other two, but David's body disappeared. I always knew he'd gotten away. It's just a matter of time before they try to kill you. Or worse."

"I hate to break it to you, Frogman, but I don't believe in vampires."

"Your friends don't come out during the day, do they?" he asked as he started following her down the aisle.

"I heard that David was at your 'accident' a few weeks ago. Did he give you any of his blood? If so, you're already on your way to becoming one of them."

"Enough already. If you're so concerned about my personal life, make sure your facts are straight. I was attacked by a very drunk, very human, idiot who managed to slice my arm open. I would have bled to death if David hadn't been there to tie a tourniquet. And I don't know what my friends daily habits are because when they're not with me, what they do is none of my business."

She turned on her heal and walked off, hoping he got the point. He followed her down another aisle, and then another. She felt almost as if he was trying to herd her somewhere. She came to a stop in front of a large mirror and stood her ground. This was ridiculous.

"Look, Frogman, if you don't leave me alone, I will have to hurt you. And once I've hurt you, then I'll think about calling the police."

He was staring at her reflection, and he visibly relaxed, and started to walk down the aisle, looking through comic books.

"What was that all about? Did you miss your medication today or something?"

"I had to make sure you weren't already one of them," he answered calmly, walking back up to her and handing her a comic book.

"Take this and see the truth for yourself. Hopefully it won't be too late."

She looked down at the comic in her hand. It was a vampire comic, and had a sinister looking vampire with fangs dripping blood, holding a big breasted blonde on the cover.

"No offense, but when I want to read about vampires, I'll pick up Bram Stoker or Anne Rice. I'm really not into comics."

"Then think of it more as a survival manual."

"Jeanne, I found what I want!!"

Celine came up with an armload of Archie comics. Jeanne made no comment, she just indicated that Celine should put them on the counter to pay for them. Edgar stepped behind the counter to ring them up, never taking his eyes off Jeanne. When they left the store, Jeanne discovered that he'd slipped the vampire comic in the bag.

"Poor man's lost his mind or something," she muttered to herself. Or he just smoked entirely too much marijuana.

"Let's go to the roller coaster next, Jeanne. It shouldn't be too bad right now."

Celine led the way, with Jeanne following after. The younger girl claimed to suffer from agoraphobia, but Jeanne thought she was exaggerating. It was more likely that she suffered from occasional panic attacks. Right now they were in a large open space with a number of people, and she was fine.

They rode all of the rides on the Boardwalk, and it was almost sunset by the time Celine was ready to leave. As they made their way down the boardwalk to the parking lot, they encountered a large group of girls who were all dressed in the same gothic style as Celine, and Jeanne was quickly left on her how.

Not feeling like hanging around the Boardwalk, she continued to her car. As she pulled out her keys, she found herself surrounded by here men, who she recognized as friends of Dane. Surf Nazis. The tallest of them tried to intimidate her by crowding her.

"Hey there, Frenchy. Our friend's been missing for awhile. You haven't seen him, have you?"

"I'm happy to say that I haven't seen him since he was fool enough to attack me, and I don't care if I never see him again."

"Dane said you had a mouth on you. You're just too damn smart for your own good."

He reached out a hand and touched her face, almost a caress. Jeanne leaned away from him.

"You sure are pretty, though. You know, I have an opening for a new girlfriend."

She grabbed his hand and squeezed until she heard small bones crack, then kneed him in the groin. He went down with a moan while she kept a grip on his hand, and pulled out her bowie knife with her free had.

"Bitch, you just made a big mistake."

"I wish you would try something." She pressed the tip of her knife against his throat.

"Please, give me an excuse," she warned his friends, and they looked uncertain. They weren't used to their victims fighting back. One of them actually tried to grab her from the side, and she gave him a shallow cut across the chest, just barely drawing blood. He screamed like a girl and she kicked him in the stomach. He went down, and she turned her attention to the boy she still had in her grip. She squeezed harder, and forced him to his knees, pointing her knife at the third, who stood watching.

"Do you really want to try anything?"

He shook his head, and Jeanne shoved his friend at him.

"Then get out of here! Stupid kids," she muttered aloud as they got up and limped off. She slipped the knife back into it's sheath, and as she looked down, she saw that one of her tires had been slashed.

"Damn."

She looked at the other tires and found that they'd all been slashed. If she saw those kids again, she'd do more than draw a little blood. They had probably planned on attacking her while she was in her car. Damned Surf Nazis. She had to wonder why more of them weren't in jail, with all of the trouble they cause. Of course, even when they were arrested, their friends just bailed them out.

Sighing, she put her keys back in her pocket and pulled out her cell phone and AAA card. She swore softly to herself as she checked her watch. The shop would be closed now; there was not getting new tires tonight. She could leave the car here and have it towed in the morning, but that still left the problem of getting home.

Jeanne turned around and headed back to the Boardwalk. She wasn't going to be alone in the parking lot if any of those kids came back for round two. She was really tired of dealing with the Surf Nazis. She rather regretfully made her way back through the press of people.

She'd just taken a seat on a bench when she saw the strange man. He was just as pale as David and Marko, but on him it looked unnatural. He was an older man, he appeared to be in his late forties, and he was staring directly at her.

"Good evening, my dear."

He was European, his accent even thicker than hers. Jeanne blinked as one moment he was twenty feet away from her, and in the next, he was on the bench beside her, never taking his eyes off her.

"A woman so beautiful shouldn't be alone in a place like this. Perhaps you might allow me to escort you to your destination?"

He turned compelling green eyes on her, and Jeanne had to resist the impulse to agree to go with him. Something about the situation made her very uneasy. It reminded her of the night she first met David, only this man scared her.

"Sorry, but I'm going to have to refuse. I was actually getting ready to leave."

"Then you must allow me to escort you home."

She felt an even stronger compulsion to agree, and shook her head to clear it. What could she have been thinking to contemplate going off with a strange man? This wasn't David, just trying to take her to dinner on the Boardwalk. This man was talking about taking her off of the Boardwalk. In the former murder capital of the world, there was no possibility that she was going to let this complete stranger take her home.

"I don't think so."

He seemed genuinely surprised that she refused him. His eyes narrowed in apparent confusion, making Jeanne even more nervous.

"Jeanne, I see you've met our cousin, Soren."

She had never been so happy to see Marko's grin in all the time she'd know him.

"Your cousin?"

She looked between the pair of them. Apart from their pale complexions she couldn't see any resemblance between them.

"Yeah. Soren, this is Jeanne, a friend of ours. Jeanne, Soren. Soren just arrived in Santa Carla today. From-uh-"

"Lausanne, Switzerland."

He offered his hand, which she accepted, and she repressed the shudder of unease when he raised her hand to his lips and kissed it.

"It's always a pleasure to meet such a lovely woman, Jeanne."

She didn't notice the way Marko's eyes narrowed, almost imperceptibly.

"_David, you need to get to the Boardwalk now!"_

"_What is it?"_

"_Soren. I just found him with Jeanne."_

"_Don't let them out of your sight! I'll be right there!"_

_Of all the nights to be there, _David thought to himself as his bike covered the distance between Jeanne's house and the Boardwalk. He'd gone to the house first, expecting her to be there. Instead, she was in the one place he didn't want her to be, and Soren had found her.

He was at the Boardwalk in record time, breaking every traffic law in the books to get there. He scanned the area, looking for Jeanne and Marko.

"_Marko, where are you?"_

"_Near the exit by the parking lot."_

"_And she's alright?"_

"_He hasn't hurt her. He was trying to get her to go off with him when I arrived."_

_If he tries to hurt her, I'll kill him_, was the only thought running through his head as he pushed his way through the crowd of people. He finally saw them, Soren sitting on a bench beside Jeanne. She looked uncomfortable at his nearness, but was trying to hide it. Soren was making polite conversation while trying to probe her mind. David made a quick mental scan of his own, and was glad to find that Soren wasn't succeeding.

"Hello David. I was just discussing the beauty of the Swiss Alps with you lovely friend here."

"_And where did you run off to? I expected to find you at the cave with Marko, but he couldn't tell me where you'd gone. And now I run into this lovely young woman. Friend of yours?"_

David growled softly, and Jeanne looked over at him. Her expression was a cross between confusion at this actions, and pleading for his help.

"I wasn't expecting to see you here tonight, Jeanne. I thought you would still be hard at work."

"I would have been home by now, but those damned Surf Nazis slashed all of my tires. I was about to call a cab when I met your cousin.

"You're sure they were Surf Nazis?"

"Of course I'm sure. Three of them were waiting for me at my car."

"What happened?" David instantly went into an aggressive mood, a state no missed by anyone.

"Just stupid kids making threats."

"You have blood on you," he bit out as he noticed her shirt. Marko's eyes widened. How had he missed that? Maybe it was the smell of blood that had drawn Soren to her. Jeanne looked down at it as if she'd just noticed it was there.

"It's not mine. Only one of them was smart enough not to touch me. One met the business end of my blade, hence the blood, and the other is likely at the E.R. getting his broken hand reset and his testicles retrieved."

All three of the males winced at that, and Marko's hands went down protectively, which made Jeanne smile.

"I'll give you a ride home then."

David took her hand and almost pulled her to her feet. He and Soren locked eyes, as Soren tried to mentally compel Jeanne to stay. David was working just as hard, willing her to come with him. He felt the uncontrollable need to get her away from Soren immediately.

"Thank you, David. I appreciate that."

She allowed him to pull her to her feet and lead her to his bike. He climbed on and waited for her to climb on behind him. She held him loosely around the waist, almost tentatively. That wouldn't at all. He took her hands and pulled until she was forced to hold him more tightly. He was glad she couldn't see his face as they pulled off. He enjoyed having her arms around him far too much.

Jeanne chafed at David's pulling her against him, but as he began flying down the road, she held on even tighter. She'd never been on a motorcycle before, and although it was exhilarating, it was also terrifying. She buried her head in his shoulders as they drove down a hill. She was sure he was driving like a maniac just to scare her.

They slowed to a stop and Jeanne opened her eyes, looking around. They were certainly nowhere near her home. They were on a cliff. Jeanne could hear the waves crash against the rocks below.

"David, where are we?"

"Hudson's Bluff. You haven't been out here?"

"No. What happened to taking me home?"

"I will. I just wanted you to see this."

He took one of her hands, holding it as he slid off the bike, and helped her off. For once, there wasn't a heavy fog, and they could clearly see the lighthouse. David really had intended to take her home, but as soon as they hit the road, he found himself driving out here. He didn't want their time together tonight to end, not yet. They stood, silently, for several minutes, David not letting go of her hand, before she spoke again.

"So, what's with your cousin Soren?"

"What do you mean?"

He had no idea what Soren had said or done before he got to them. He could only imagine what Soren might have tried on her.

"There's something very—offsetting—with him. I can't put a finger on it, but he made me very uneasy. He was so insistent that I let him escort me off, as if I would go off with a strange man I'd never met."

David held back a growl. Soren had apparently planned to have Jeanne for dinner. It was fortunate that Marko had found them before anything had happened. But he was surprised that Jeanne had been able to resist Soren's compulsion. Vampires were so seductive to humans, they rarely had to actually work to get a meal.

"I'm sure he'd be insulted to hear that. He thinks he's quite charming. I don't want you around him, Jeanne."

She was at the sudden intensity in his expression. His hand tightened on hers, and she winced.

"He's a real womanizer. I don't want you to get hurt, so please stay away. Don't let him catch you alone. Promise me!"

"David, you're hurting me."

He let go of her hand, and took her by the shoulders.

"Promise me, Jeanne."

His eyes were starting to take on a yellow hue, rimmed in red. At that moment, Jeanne could almost believe the Frogman's claim that David and Marko were vampires. There was definitely something off about them. She gave herself a mental shake. Whatever David was, he'd saved her life that night Dane attacked her. She had no doubt she would have bled to death. The doctors had told her that the tourniquet he'd applied had saved her life. She would NOT start making insane accusations. He gave her shoulders a not so gentle squeeze, and she realized he was still waiting for an answer.

"I have no wish to get close to Soren, David."

"Promise me. If Marko or I aren't with you, you won't go near him."

"I promise."

If it was so important to him, she would promise. She'd come to care for him, much more than she would have expected on first meeting him. She couldn't explain why she felt so much for David. The feeling was beyond what she'd felt for anyone, even Sasha.

As soon as she promised to avoid Soren, David felt an immense feeling of relief. He pulled her into a crushing embrace, and claimed her lips with his own. He barely felt her pushing against him, trying to break free, and he ignored it. He'd wanted to do this since the night he first saw her. It was why he'd brought her out here tonight, he knew it. When she tried again to push away, one hand came up and tangled itself in her hair, holding her in place.

He gently probed her mind with his, something that was getting easier to do. What he found was a mass of confusion, and he mentally winced at the noise. Part of her wanted his attention, wanted even more than his kiss. Part of her wanted him as badly as he wanted her, and he fought down the urge to put her down on the ground where they were. The rational part of her mind, however, was shrieking at her to break away, which she was attempting to do. He held her tighter, determined that her rational mind would lose.

He growled in his throat when she began to hit him, and pulled her even closer, grinding his hips against hers so that she could feel exactly what she was doing to him. He knew he was scaring her, even before he heard her moan "no". He couldn't seem to stop himself. The more she fought, the more impatient he became.

He broke the kiss, but did not remove his hands as he looked around. The stinging slap Jeanne delivered was hardly felt, but it did bring his attention to her. She pulled away, and took off running. She was so upset that she didn't realize she was running towards the cliff, rather than away from it. David was on her instantly, tackling her just before she would have gone over the edge.

She started fighting in earnest when she landed on the ground, on her back. David had to put all of his effort into keeping her from injuring either of them. He wrapped his body around her, pinning her to the ground. Her hands came up against his chest, and he could feel her desperation as he easily pried them away, and pinned them above her head. Under that desperation laid a need almost as great as his own. He just had to bring it to the forefront, so that she stopped fighting him. He would have her, but he would NOT rape her.

He kissed her again, her attempts to turn her head accomplishing nothing. He caught her lower lip between his teeth and gently tugged, as he pressed his body more intimately against her. If layers of clothes didn't separate them, he would be in more than just her mind. She gasped at the contact of their bodies, and he used it to his advantage, delving his tongue into her mouth, seeking dominance. He released her hands and used his own to skim her body, stoking her need of him, even as he wondered where they could go. He was no exhibitionist; he would not take her out on the cliff. Especially since he would be toast when the sun rose, if they remained out here. They weren't far from the cave, they could go there. Marko would still be out for hours.

It took him a few moments to come to the realization that she was no longer fighting him. She was returning his kiss with a passion that equaled his own, not trying to fight him off. She wasn't pushing him away; her hands were running up and down his back, deliciously torturing his nerve endings. Holding tightly onto her, he flew them into the cave, directly to his bed. He had won.e HH


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Normal disclaimer. If you saw it in the movie, it's not mine. If you didn't see it in the movie, it's mine. It would be completely awesome if it was all mine, but I'm not that lucky…….**

Jeanne woke up, completely disoriented by the dark. There wasn't a ray of light anywhere.

_Where am I?_

She knew she was in a bed, that much she could tell, and given the fact that she was being held, she wasn't alone.

_David. What have I done?_

She didn't have any excuse. She wasn't drunk last night, or drugged. At some point she'd simply thrown common sense out the window and stopped fighting him, giving in to the overwhelming need to be with him.

_Really smart move there, Jeanne. Sleep with the guy, when you really don't know him. You know better than this, you're not eighteen for the love of all that's holy. How could you be so stupid?_

After the cliff, they'd ended up in a cave, which David claimed was his home. A cave? Really? Who lived in a cave?

She reached her hand out cautiously, not able to even see that hand in front of her face, and came into contact with bed curtains, the really heavy kind that kept out all light. No wonder she couldn't see anything. Reaching through the curtains, she encountered a nightstand, and she felt along it until she came into contact with what felt like a lamp. As she touched the base, it immediately lit up, and she parted the curtains so that she could see.

She looked down at the pale arms wrapped around her, and David's platinum head resting comfortably on one breast. He was still asleep. She silently thanked whoever was listening that the rest of him was covered. Even with all of her mental berating, she knew that she would more than likely want to pick up where they left off if she actually saw him completely nude. She gently lifted his head and slid out from under him, not wanting to wake him. He looked so peaceful sleeping.

Holding enough of the curtains to her body to shield her, she cautiously slipped out of the bed. Her clothes lay scattered on the floor, but she thankfully didn't see anyone around. Her underwear was on the floor by the bed, and she quickly slipped on her bra and boy shorts. Feeling slightly less exposed, she found her jeans and shirt, and quickly dressed. Her sandals were nowhere to be found, and she looked around in confusion. She finally gave up when she thought she heard David stirring. She just had to get away.

She found the opening out of the cavern, and almost froze when she saw a second curtained bed. She assumed it was Marko's, and only hoped that he hadn't come in while she and David were otherwise occupied. She wouldn't be able to look him in the eye. There was no sound coming from the bed, so she continued to inch her way out of the cavern.

Jeanne found herself in a larger cavern, and was surprised to see a fountain in the middle of the room. This must be the hotel that sank in the earthquake of 1906. A large Jim Morrison mural covered one of the walls, and there were several couches around barrels. They must really live here, but why?

She saw the exit ahead and hurried to it, grabbing her purse. She had to get out before David woke up and found her gone. She needed to think, and doubted very much that thinking would be on David's to-do list. Once she actually got out of the cave and up to the ground, she looked around, blinking as she adjusted to the bright afternoon sun. She shook her head when she saw where she was, and how far away it was from where they'd parked the bike last night. She knew they didn't walk all that way.

_We must have walked. No one can fly. _

But Jeanne couldn't dismiss her memories. She'd gone from being flat on her back on the cliff, trying to tear David apart, to his bed in only seconds. Something was most definitely wrong.

Not wanting to continue that train of thought, Jeanne pulled out her cell phone, and pulled up Celine's number. She waited for what felt like ages for an answer, but all she received was voicemail. Sighing, she called a cab, and an hour later, she found herself back at the boardwalk.

She was happy to find that her car appeared to have sustained no more damage. Thos Surf Nazi's appeared to have stayed away. Thankful for small mercies, Jeanne called her body shop, which agreed to send out a tow truck and pick up the car. Jeanne walked up the Boardwalk while she waited, in need of food.

"So I see you survived."

Hearing a familiar voice behind her, Jeanne took her corn dog and drink and turned around.

"Survived what, exactly, Frogman? Those Surf Nazi punks?"

"I'm talking about your Nosferatu buddies." He fell into step beside her as she walked back to the parking lot benches to wait for the tow truck.

"Are you still going on about that? No wonder you're still single. They're not vampires, Frogman."

"Of course they want you to think they're normal. But they're vampires. And now they have a third one. I'm surprised they didn't kill you last night, seeing how the new one was all over you. You're lucky you escaped today. People who ride off with David tend not to come back."

_Wait a minute. Did he spend the whole night watching me?_

"Well, since all of my tires were slashed, I had to find some way home Frogman. And obviously I came back alive, so—"

"You never went home last night."

"Excuse me?"

"You're wearing the same clothes you wore yesterday. You didn't go home."

He reached out and pulled on her shirt, and she slapped at him. He seemed focused on her shoulder, and didn't notice the blows.

"Touch me again and you lose a hand."

"He bit you. You've been marked."

"Have you never seen a hickey before? You really must be a virgin."

"Not one with puncture marks. He fed on you."

Jeanne froze as she remembered when he gave her that hickey. She had briefly felt a sharp, stabbing pain, but then it was gone.

_This is ridiculous. There must be some other explanation. David isn't a vampire. I've spent too much time listening to this lunatic._

"Show me where they live, and I can kill him for you."

"Alright, Frogman, let's suspend reality for a moment and pretend I believe this lunacy. Why do you hate David so much that you would kill him?"

"He's a vampire," Edgar stated simply, as if that explained everything.

"As I said, I'll pretend to believe that for now. So what?"

Edgar looked at her as if she'd grown a second head.

"He's a vampire. A monster. He kills people, what more reason do I need?"

"When last I checked, vampires killed people to feed, is that correct?"

Edgar nodded.

"So you want to kill him because he's higher up on the food chain than you?"

"They're killers, Jeanne. They don't care about people. And if they pretend to, it's only so that they can kill them. They need to be wiped out."

"The moral argument is a flawed one at best, Frogman. People kill millions of animals a year for food. And people slaughter each other for no reason at all, so how are we any better than vampires? I can't believe I'm actually having this discussion," she muttered the last to herself, but Edgar still heard it.

"I can't believe you're defending a bloodsucker! He must have you under some sort of mind control."

Jeanne actually laughed at that, even as she wished the tow truck would hurry.

"I'm defending no one, Frogman. Vampires don't exist. But you're trying to convince me to help you commit murder, and I'm saying your argument isn't good enough. What has David done to you that you want to kill him? To you, personally, not just some argument about the greater good."

"My brother was turned into a vampire," Edgar said quietly. Jeanne looked over at him. She hadn't expected to hear that.

"Twenty two years ago, David and his coven tried to turn Michael Emerson into a vampire. David tricked Michael into drinking his blood, which is all it takes to turn someone into a half vampire. Michael's brother came to use for help. We killed two of David's coven, and the head vampire, Max. A few years ago, my brother Allen was turned. He became an absolute monster, and turned Michael's brother, Sam."

Jeanne felt badly for Edgar. It was clear that something had happened to his brother, and apparently his friend as well. Somehow, whatever had happened, he was blaming David.

"I'm sorry for your loss. I've lost people as well."

"You don't believe me."

"I believe you lost your brother and your friend."

"Just show me where I can find David, Jeanne, and you'll see for yourself."

"Frogman, there isn't a chance in Hell that I would lead you to someone's home so that you could kill them," she told him as the tow truck finally arrived. Jeanne happily left Edgar to attend to her car, although he stood and watched.

"Do yourself a favor. Talk to the Emerson's if you don't believe me," he challenged her as she climbed into the cab of the tow truck. She would stay away from the Boardwalk tonight. She looked at her watch as they pulled off and was surprised to see that it was already 4:00. And she'd had so much she wanted to get done today.

Oh well, she could at least move the furniture into the rooms she'd gotten painted. That would be something at least. And she could start painting the rest of the upstairs, all she'd managed to paint yesterday was her bedroom before Celine wanted to go to the Boardwalk.

David paced the small caver, pausing every few seconds to take a drink from the bottle Marko had set out for him. Four hours ago Jeanne had run off. He'd heard her heart start racing when she woke, heard her asking herself what she'd done. He thanked whoever listened to vampires that she hadn't woken up blaming him for what happened. His instinct had been to keep her pinned down, but he'd pretended to still be sleeping. He should have known she would bolt. And now the sun was still high in the sky, and he couldn't go after her.

"_David, get some sleep. You can't do anything until the sun sets, and your pacing is driving me crazy."_

Marko had come back to the cave just before dawn. He'd smirked at David when he saw Jeanne asleep. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out they'd come straight here, and that David hadn't fed, so he'd pulled out the bottle they kept for emergencies and handed it to David.

"_Make sure you feed tonight so you don't end up killing her."_

David wouldn't admit how much he needed to feed. His own blood would hold him until tonight, but he really needed human blood. Sometime during their third encounter, he'd marked Jeanne, and come dangerously closed to taking too much blood. He'd just barely stopped himself after only a pint. The urge to take more and complete an exchange had been overwhelming. He didn't know what was going on.

"_David! Seriously, shut up and get some sleep, or I swear I'll knock you out myself."_

Marko sounded extremely annoyed, so David took a final drink from the bottle and climbed back into bed. There was nothing he could do right now but work himself into a fury.

He woke the moment the sun went down, his mind fixed on a single mission: to find Jeanne. He dressed with preternatural speed and headed for the entrance. He had to find Jeanne; that was all that mattered. She had no right to just sneak off and leave him. He was prevented from leaving by the appearance of Soren.

"_We need to talk, David."_

"_I'm a little busy tonight, Soren."_

David found himself pinned to one of the leather couches, unable to move.

"You WILL listen to me, David."

Soren paused as he inhaled experimentally, and his eyes narrowed.

"She was here?"

David said nothing, he just struggled to break Soren's grip. Soren was far stronger than David, however, and just increased his hold.

"Does she know?"

"Of course not!"

"_Is she what you were hiding the night I arrived? What are you doing, David?"_

"_I don't know," _he was finally forced to admit. Soren wasted no time, plunging mercilessly into David's memories.

_He saw her for the first time, pushing through the boardwalk, ignoring everyone. The urge to follow her was strong, so he did. She was meeting someone, he picked up from her thoughts. A man? He would rip this man's heart out. No, it was a young girl. They argued briefly, and he finally picked out her name from the conversation. Jeanne. Jeanne and the younger girl left without ever noticing he was there._

_The next night he was back on the boardwalk, looking for her. He had to find her again, this Jeanne. There she was, at one of the jewelry stalls. She was buying a necklace, dark blue stones that matched her shirt exactly. He had to talk to her. _

"_You have good taste."_

_She was looking at him. Her eyes were the clearest green he'd ever seen._

"_I'm so glad you approve, that just makes my complete."_

_He couldn't resist touching her, and slipped his hands over hers, easily fastening the clasp. It didn't take much to get her to have dinner with him; he didn't even have to "push" her. Some sort of emergency came up, and she left him with Marko. They still had time before sunrise, and took off on their bikes. They had just reached the wealthier area of Santa Carla when he smelled blood, and a lot of it. Jeanne's blood. They drove furiously until they reached her. Some Surf Nazi had managed to slice her arm open. If they didn't get the bleeding stopped, she would die._

Despite how hard David tried to block him out, Soren sorted through his memories of Jeanne until he got to last night. He growled at Soren as they both relived last night from David's view. Soren finally released his hold on David as he took a seat on another couch. Neither had noticed Marko until he took a seat on the arm of the couch David was sitting on.

"I don't know what's going on Soren, but I swear to you that if you hurt her, I WILL kill you."

"So much Max never told you," Soren muttered, more to himself than them. He was quiet for a moment, trying to process everything he'd just seen. There was much Max would have to answer for, were he alive. He'd been the most disappointing of Soren's children. David's complete ignorance of what was happening was inexcusable. He'd come so close to giving them all away.

"David. I won't hurt your young lady."

"What's wrong with me, Soren?"

For the first time in his existence, David felt completely uncontrolled, and it scared him. He was David, leader of the Lost Boys. He didn't lose control. He didn't need people, they needed him. Yet Jeanne had managed to get under his skin in a way he couldn't understand. He didn't like feeling confused and helpless.

"It's quite simple, David, if uncommon. You've recognized, and bonded to, your mate."

"Mate? What the hell are you talking about?"

"If Max wasn't already dead, I'd kill him myself. You know the whole 'soul mate' principal that humans love to go on about?"

David and Marko both nodded.

"Well, it can happen in vampires as well. A recognition of your equal, the other person who would complete you. Your partner."

"This is bullshit."

David shot up from the seat, but Soren's next words stopped him.

"She makes you feel human, does she not?"

David sank back down into the couch, and Soren looked at him with something close to pity.

"As I said, it's not common. But you're hardly the first."

"So what do I do?"

"You bonded to her last night, David. Your only option at this point is to turn her."

Turn her. In making her a vampire, he could end up destroying everything he loved about her. And he did love her, damn it. He realized that last night.

"I can't- she doesn't even know what we are! I can't turn her, she—"

"She wouldn't have to know until it's done. Just bring her back to the cave and give her a drink, like you did with the rest of us," Marko added helpfully.

The thought of turning her without her knowledge sickened him. It had never bothered him when it came to the others. Honestly, who in their right mind would actually choose this life? But turning Jeanne, hurting her like that… It must be the damned mate thing Soren was trying to explain that had him going so soft.

_What the hell is going on here? _

His mind was a mass of confusion. Everything was absolute chaos in his head, to the point that he couldn't think clearly.

"You're feeling her thoughts and emotions. The connection will be nearly unbreakable now that you've bonded. And it will only get worse until she's one of us and can control it. The confusion you're feeling, she's feel too, only much worse. You have to turn her, David."

"I need time, Soren."

"I'm afraid you don't have any time, David. That's why I came to see you. I found a corpse last night, drained of blood. It was a newborn, and one I didn't recognize.

Both David and Marko absorbed that in silence. That could only mean one of two things: a vampire passing through had turned someone and abandoned them, or there was another vampire trying to build a coven in Santa Carla. Either way, this was trouble.

"The biggest question is whether it was done on purpose. We need to find this newborn, and find the sire."

David sat silent, running through the implications of this in his head. He and Marko were the recognized coven in Santa Carla, no other vampire should be in this town without them knowing about it. The fact that there was a newborn running around making kills that could expose them all meant that someone was likely trying to stage a takeover.

_Jeanne._

Soren was right. There was no time. If it was anything other than a lost or abandoned newborn, Jeanne was in danger. His mark would be a clear warning to other vampires to stay away, but if someone was looking to overthrow him, they would hurt Jeanne on purpose, to hurt him.

"_I'm sorry David. I know what this means to you, but if this is a threat, and I'm sure it is, she is a liability as a human. She must be turned if you want to keep her safe."_

"We need to start the search immediately. If we find the newborn, we find the sire," Soren spoke out loud. Marko was in full agreement. David knew he was right.

"You and Marko go. I'll join you as soon as I can. I have to see to something first."

He grabbed the bottle and flew out of the cave. If Jeanne had to be turned to keep her safe, than that's exactly what would happen, personal feelings aside. He wasn't going to let this mate thing keep him from doing what had to be done. He would do whatever was necessary to make Jeanne his.

Following her thoughts, he found her at the house. There were rogue vampires in the area, and she was in that isolated house. Did Fate have it in for him or something? He could hear her moving furniture around. Memo to David: Jeanne worked when she was confused.

He entered the house and followed the sounds upstairs. Jeanne was having trouble moving a dresser, in what appeared to be the master bedroom. The walls had been painted a pale blue, while the ceiling was left white. David joined her and easily pushed it against the wall. Jeanne looked at him, and immediately turned her attention elsewhere.

"You shouldn't be here right now.'

"Jeanne." He reached out and touched her arm, and she jerked away. He gently probed her mind, and felt all of the confusion and even guilt that had hit him in the cave. Who the hell was Sasha?

"Jeanne-" he tried again.

"No. I can't do this David. I can't---"

"Do what, Jeanne. What do you think I want?"

"I can't-I don't do this, David. I don't just have sex with men. I don't do summer flings, or whatever you call this. I'm not like that."

David grabbed her arm and pulled her into an embrace, and felt her stiffen. He loosened his grip, but kept her locked in his arms as he kissed her. He could feel her internal argument with herself, and deepened the kiss, until her felt the argument die down. Poor thing still thought she had some choice in all of this.

"This isn't some fling for me either, Jeanne. I don't 'just have sex' with women."

He kissed her again, and this time she didn't try to pull away.

"Why are you so afraid?" he practically whispered as he leaned his head against hers. The fear was radiating off of her in waves. Fear and guilt.

"I care for you, David. Beyond all common sense and reason. But the last man to share my bed, the only man to share my bed, was my husband, Sasha. He died in 2004."

She'd been married. David felt an intense hatred for Sasha, whoever he'd been. She belonged to him, and no other.

"I won't hurt you, Jeanne."

"Last night—"

"Last night I was almost out of control. It won't happen like that again."

He hoped.

"I can't. Not right now."

David's impulse was to do just what he did last night, and make her underlying need of him override her judgment, but he'd just told her it wouldn't happen again. He wouldn't push it, not when they had more pressing concerns than his libido. Instead he ran his hand through her hair before wrapping an arm around her and guiding her out of the room.

"Let's take a break from all of the work for awhile. I brought a bottle of wine, let's just unwind for tonight. Forget about everything else."

It sounded like a fine idea to Jeanne. She'd been in a nervous state all afternoon, half afraid of what might happen when David came after her. She'd never questioned that he would. She had a need to be near him that she couldn't explain, and it scared her. She'd never felt that way before, not even with Sasha. She grabbed two of the leftover plastic cups and brought them out to the living room. David was holding a wine bottle unlike any she'd ever seen. The bottle itself was clear, but it was covered in what Jeanne knew were real jewels. David opened the bottle and filled both cups, handing one to Jeanne. She watched him take a drink, and a tremor ran through his body as it went down. She lifted her cup to her nose and sniffed. It didn't smell like any wine she'd ever tasted.

"What kind of wine is this?"

"Just try it. You'll like it, I promise."

She put the cup to her lips and took a sip. It tasted unlike anything she'd ever tried before. It was as sweet as it smelled, but there was a hint of something underneath it, almost metallic. She took another sip, and continued drinking until the cup was empty. She noticed that David never took his eyes off her.

"Good?"

"Good."

He poured more, and she drank it down. This wine could get addicting. David finished his own cup and pulled Jeanne down onto the couch with him. He was amazed that she drank so much. Most people could only take a sip or two, a rare few a mouthful, of vampire blood at a time. She'd had two 12 ounce cups full. It should work quickly on her. She would probably want to feed by tomorrow night.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 6

Jeanne looked at the clock beside the bed and groaned. It was 5:00 pm. She'd slept the entire day, for the third day in a row.

_What is wrong with me?_

She never slept like this before. And another thing: she hadn't eaten in three days. Not once had she felt hungry, and the few times she'd tried to eat anything, the smell of food made her nauseous. She might have to see a doctor if this continued. Something was definitely wrong.

She could hear the TV in the living room. Celine must be home. But why was it so loud that she could hear it back in the bedroom?

"Celine, turn it down!"

There was no response from the living room. Holding her head in her hands, Jeanne slid out of bed, and padded out to the living room. She could feel a migraine beginning to set in, and so walked slowly to the sofa. Celine wasn't in the room, so Jeanne grabbed the remote and turned it down.

_There must be something wrong with this thing._

She had the TV practically muted, according to the screen, but it still sounded terribly loud. An ear shattering clanging came from the kitchen, and Jeanne covered her ears.

"Celine?"

"Oh good, you're finally awake. I'm cooking pasta." Celine answered from the kitchen, and Jeanne winced.

"You don't have to yell."

Celine came out of the kitchen and looked at her sister.

"I'm not yelling, Jeanne. You look terrible."

"I think I've a migraine coming on. I'm sure I'll be fine once I get some more rest."

"You've been asleep for sixteen straight hours, Jeanne. I think you need to eat something. Dinner's almost ready."

Jeanne really wasn't hungry, but Celine was right. She needed to eat something. She followed her sister into the kitchen and sat at the table.

"I think you should stay away from the house tonight, Jeanne. Stay here and take it easy. You're in no condition to go anywhere."

Jeanne wanted to disagree, but Celine was right. She'd already lost the whole day, and she wasn't in any shape to get anything done. She hated being so close, and not finishing immediately, but there was no help for it. And taking it easy for a few days might help kick whatever this was that her body was trying to fight off.

"I think I'm staying in tonight."

David would just have to deal with her absence tonight. He'd come by the house every night since the cave, sometimes just to watch her work, other times helping her finish something. Not once had he pushed her for more than simple company, which was a good thing. There were so many strange things that really needed to be explained about David. And Jeanne still couldn't believe she'd slept with him at all. Something about the man caused her to take leave of her senses.

_David._

Celine set a plate of pasta in front of Jeanne, breaking her thoughts. She looked at the plate full of noodles, and picked up her fork.

"It's just a garlic and butter sauce, nothing too fancy, but it tasted great when I tested it."

Celine filled a plate for herself and sat across from Jeanne. Jeanne looked down at the food as she twirled a forkful of noodles. It looked utterly unappetizing, but Celine had actually gone to the trouble of cooking, so she would try to eat it.

She stuck her fork in her mouth, and her stomach clenched so tightly she double over. The pain that spread through her body was so sharp that she pushed away form the table, knocking her chair over.

"Jeanne!"

She heard Celine calling her, but it was distant, as if they were at opposite ends of a long tunnel. She collapsed onto the floor, curled up on her side, waiting for the pain to subside.

"You need a hospital. I'm calling an ambulance."

"_I just need to sleep."_

It didn't register to Jeanne that she hadn't said that out loud. Celine had the cordless phone in her hand, punching numbers. Jeanne tried to push herself to her knees, but couldn't. Her stomach wouldn't stop clenching. It was agonizing.

She had no idea how long she laid there, but at some point Celine left her to open the door. She vaguely recognized the same medic from her attack, the one who'd glared at David.

"Miss Laurent, we're here to help you."

She couldn't as much as nod.

"Do you remember me? I'm Michael Emerson."

She knew the name, somehow. The pain, though, was too great. She couldn't think. He was kneeling down beside her, shining a flashlight in her eyes. She noticed that the seemed to recoil at whatever he saw.

"Alright, we're going to see what we can do for you."

She could hear Celine in the background, freaking out, but she couldn't really understand what her sister was saying. She heard another voice trying to calm Celine down, and felt herself being lifted and placed on a stretcher. She wanted to tell them it wasn't necessary, but couldn't seem to get her mouth to work. Before she could clearly grasp what was happening, she was in the ambulance, and they were moving. Michael was in the back with her.

"David gave you wine, didn't he?"

He inserted an IV into her arm, and Jeanne watched as he attached a bag, filled with blood. What did David have to do with any of this?

"Damn him. I can't take you to the hospital, not like this. We're going to go somewhere safe, where he can't get to you."

"_Who can't get to me? What's going on? What is this about David?"_

It was as though her vocal cords had simply stopped working. Her mind was racing a hundred miles an hour, but she couldn't translate it into speech. Michael yelled up to the cab.

"Take us to the house, Laddie."

"_Where are you taking me? What's going on?"_

Another wave of pain hit, and she arched her back, rising up off the stretcher. Michael had to hold her down.

"It will start to get better soon."

When the ambulance stopped, Jeanne had drifted peacefully off to sleep. Laddie joined Michael in the back, and released her from the stretcher. The younger man carried her inside the house, into an upstairs bedroom, past the two gawking women. Star looked down the stairs at her husband, who stood in the doorway, just in front of a gothic dressed young woman, who looked to be roughly their daughter's age.

"Michael, what is this?"

"Laurel, take our guest outside and show her the stables."

He stared at the younger girl until she grabbed a hat, and hurried out of the house, grabbing the other girls hand as she passed. Michael sprinted up the stairs to take a hold of his wife.

"Michael?"

"It's the girl Edgar's been worried about. David already got to her."

David woke in the early evening, his stomach clenching in agony. It was so painful hat he actually fell out of his bed, curled up in a ball. He didn't know where this came from, but it was excruciating. He could almost compare it to the time Michael Emerson impaled him on antlers.

"_Jeanne."_

_Where are you taking me? What's going on? What does David have to do with this?_

She didn't answer him, but he could hear her thoughts. She was being moved, and she didn't know where. She had to be the source of this agony. As the pain began to ebb, he recognized it as a physical cry for blood. He should have brought her to the cave sooner, but she'd shown no signs of change, despite the amount of his blood that she'd consumed. He'd expected her to need to feed by the next night, but she'd seemed fine.

Now his blood had finally caught up with her, and he was trapped in the cave until the sun went down. He cursed his hesitance. If he'd just brought her with him that night, as he'd wanted to, they would be fine now. Instead, he didn't know where she was being taken, or by whom. He only knew that it couldn't be the other vampires, since the sun was still high in the sky.

"David?" Marko's sleepy voice called from his bed.

"I'm fine, Marko," David managed to get out as he climbed back into his bed. "It's Jeanne. I have to get her tonight."

As soon as the sun set, he was taking her to feed and putting an end to this.

Jeanne woke to unfamiliar voices around her and opened her eyes. She looked blankly at the strange room until her gaze landed on a middle aged couple. Jeanne recognized the man as the medic who'd shown up at the condo after Celine called 911. With him was a woman whose hair was even curlier than her own. It was the woman who first noticed she was awake.

"Where am I?"

"You're safe. How are you feeling?"

"As though I lost a fight with a train. Where is Celine?"

"She's on her way to a safe place. You don't have to worry about her."

"What happened? This isn't a hospital."

"We couldn't take you to the hospital. There would be too many questions. But you're safe here," Michael answered her. She wasn't reassured, especially when she discovered that she was actually handcuffed to the bed.

"What do you people want with me? Why am I cuffed down?"

"It was just to make sure you didn't hurt yourself. You were thrashing around quite badly."

"Well, I'm awake now, so take them off."

The woman moved closer, but Michael tried to hold her back, talking softly to her.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Star. She's a half vampire starved for blood."

"Which is why you should see if there is any more blood in the ambulance. She'll need more than the one bag you gave her."

Jeanne thought he was going to refuse, but he just gave her a warning look before leaving. Star moved to the bed and unlocked the handcuffs. Jeanne sat up and rubbed her wrists.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"What am I doing here? Why would I need more blood? Why am I not in a hospital?"

"A hospital would be a very bad idea in your condition. I doubt you would want to end up a lab rat."

"What are you talking about?"

"Jeanne, you're a half vampire. I know you didn't believe what Edgar told you about David and Marko, but it's true. I was just like you once. Michael was supposed to be my first kill, but instead, David tried to turn him as well. What Edgar told you is true, and now he's trying to make you a vampire."

"This is lunacy. Vampires? Is everyone in Santa Carla obsessed with vampires or something?"

Star didn't reply, she just handed Jeanne a mirror. Jeanne picked it up, choosing to cooperate with her hosts-captors?- and looked into it. She almost screamed when she dropped it. Her reflection was transparent. And her eyes—yellow, but red rimmed. Just as David's had been.

"This isn't possible," she said to herself in French, not even noticing the lapse. It just couldn't be possible, vampires didn't exist. The Frogman was actually right?

"Non. No, this cannot be."

'It's all true, Jeanne. You're in so much pain because your body is starving for blood. If you actually make a kill, you will become a full vampire."

_Vampire. It can't be true. How can David and Marko be such-creatures? How could—_

"It was the wine, wasn't it? It was really blood. I didn't start feeling any of this until after that night."

Star nodded.

"That's how he makes his new members. They drink his blood, thinking that it's wine. Then they get the urge to kill, develop a need for blood. Once the first kill is made, it's over."

"Everything Frogman said is true? I thought he'd just done too many drugs."

Star just smiled at that as Michael came back in with a bag of blood, followed by Edgar. He looked worried, a look Jeanne didn't think she'd ever seen on him before.

"It's sunset. He'll be looking for her. I'd say we have ten minutes at most. Where's Laurel?"

"We sent them over to Laddie's. They should be safe there."

Michael handed the blood to Jeanne, and she just stared at it.

"What do you expect me to do with this?"

"Drink it. You need blood."

"I'm not drinking blood."

She tossed the bag onto the bed beside her, disgusted at how the blood made her mouth water. It certainly seemed to be what her body needed.

"If you don't drink, you could end up trying to attack one of us, and I won't take that risk."

"I cannot drink blood just because you want me to!"

The effect of her refusal was ruined when another spasm of pain wracked her body, and she collapsed onto the bed. Michael placed himself between Jeanne and Star, as Edgar reached for a stake.

"No time for that. Look!"

Star pointed at the window, and they all watched as the wind picked up. A tree started banging against the window. Michael and Edgar turned their attention away from Jeanne and hurried downstairs. Jeanne curled up into a ball on the bed, waiting for the pain to pass. She could hear them downstairs, every word they said. She felt all three of them: David, Marko, and Soren.

"You're not invited here, David."

"That didn't stop us twenty years ago, Michael. Why should it stop us now?"

"_Jeanne? Are you alright?"_

He could feel her upstairs, hidden by the Emersons. She was hurting again, though not on the same scale as earlier. The pain came from the need for blood, not from a stake, so they hadn't hurt her. Lucky for them, they might survive the night then.

"_Jeanne, come down. I can take the pain away."_

He knew she heard him, but she was ignoring him. Underneath the pain, he could feel her fury at him. So she knew what was going on. Well, it saved him from having to explain it. It should make things easier.

"_Jeanne, come down. You can't hide up there forever."_

Her mental response was a string of curses in French, followed by Russian, before she ended by telling him to go to hell. He should have expected it, he guessed. He'd known her reaction to being forcibly turned would not be instant acceptance.

"_David, we need to hurry. We can't take all night with this. Not with others still running around unchecked."_

Soren's words brought David thoughts back to the front porch. They didn't have the entire night to get her out of the Emerson house. They still had to feed her, and get back to the cave, without running into the other vampires. David wasn't taking a chance of running into them with Jeanne in a weakened state.

"I'll make this easier for you, Michael. You hand over Jeanne, and I won't destroy your home while you're all in it."

The three vampires on the porch would be enough to unnerve anyone. Edgar, however, seemed not to have learned to look before diving into danger. He tried to push past Michael, intent on attacking all three of them at one. Michael had to hold him back.

"Edgar, show some sense for once," Marko taunted him.

"We killed your little friends before, Death Breath. I can do it again!"

"You missed me once, kid, and you got lucky with Paul. I dare you to try it now."

As Marko continued to taunt Edgar, Soren was trying to establish a mental connection with Jeanne, to draw her downstairs. He shook his head at David, unable to do so. She was shutting everyone out.

"_I'm fairly certain the only reason she can't shut you out is because you're mated. You need to get her out of there."_

"_Jeanne, come down. I know it hurts, let me help you. I can make it go away."_

Her answer to that was so strongly worded that Soren blinked in surprise when he heard it. Marko looked shocked.

Angered, Edgar pushed past Michael, and lunged directly for Marko, stake out and aimed at the heart. Marko was happy to finally be able to fight back. David turned his attention back to Michael.

"Be reasonable, Michael. She's already a half vampire, and very strong. What are you going to do, feed her yourself? Or do you plan on staking her?"

"Actually, I'd thought about just killing you, and solving the entire problem."

"You couldn't kill me twenty years ago when you were half; do you really think you can do it now, when you're mortal and twenty years older?"

Michael pulled out his own stake and pointed it directly at David's heart, the tip poking through the material of his shirt.

"I think I can, yes."

David fell back as Michael lunged, tackling him off the porch and onto the ground. David smiled as he saw Soren slip into the house.

"Lock the door. Someone's coming," Jeanne managed to whisper. Star quickly locked the door and pushed a dresser in front of it. Jeanne tried to push herself back to a sitting position.

"You're weak. You need blood. You should drink what Michael brought you."

"I can't do it. Why aren't you trying to kill me?"

"You didn't ask for any of this. Besides, David would destroy all of us if we killed you. Until now, leaving each other alone has worked well."

Jeanne doubled over as another wave of pain hit. Star grabbed the blood and made a small incision, then put it up to Jeanne's mouth. As she'd expected, the younger woman wasn't able to resist as instinct took over and she drank.

The door flew open as if the dresser never blocked it. Pieces of the dresser flew everywhere as it was shoved out of the way, and Soren stepped inside. He held Star up against the window, and focused his attention on Jeanne.

"_You must come with me now, child."_

"_Get the hell away from me. You let him do this to me."_

"_Actually, I told him to make you one of us. There is much you don't know, but now is not the time for explanations. You must come with me, now."_

"_I'm not going anywhere with you."_

"_If you don't, these humans will die."_

Star couldn't hear their mental conversation, but she could feel the minute tightening of Soren's grip on her throat, and her eyes widened in fear. For the first time, Jeanne noticed that there was no arguing, or discussion of any kind, going on downstairs.

"_David?"_

He didn't answer her, but she could feel him. He was fighting with Michael, and quite enjoying himself. Marko was in a similar situation with Edgar. Neither of them were taking the fight seriously, but Jeanne could tell from David' mind that he had no problem with killing Michael, and Marko was probably just waiting for an excuse to kill Edgar. At any moment, they could and would kill the two men who were only trying to help her. She couldn't let that happen.

"No!"

She didn't think about what might happen to her as she ran down the stairs; she only knew she had to stop David and Marko from killing them. She wouldn't be able to live with it if she got them killed. She was out the door, putting herself between David and Michael, before she'd even mentally made the decision to do so. Both men froze.

"No more fighting!"

"Jeanne, get back inside," she heard Michael's voice behind her. She ignored him, keeping her gaze locked with David's.

"No more fighting."

"_Do you come with us then?"_

She nodded, just before she collapsed on the ground. David scooped her up easily as he mentally told Marko to back off, and she didn't fight him. He heard Marko kick Edgar one last time, for good measure. Michael was staring at them, looking as if he might try to attack again.

"You are alive because we've chosen to leave you alone. Come after us, or try to cause trouble for us, and all bets are off," David warned Michael just before he flew off into the night. Marko and Soren were right behind him.

They landed on a deserted stretch of beach, and David set Jeanne on her feet, keeping an arm around her waist to make certain she was steady.

"What are we doing here?"

"You need to feed, Jeanne."

"No!"

He guided/pulled her over to a dune, where Marko joined them, and wrapped his arm around her other side, effectively trapping her between them. They could see a bonfire on the other side of the dune, and hear people talking. David could feel Jeanne growing agitated.

"_Everything will be fine, Jeanne. Calm down."_

"Relax, Jeanne. There's nothing to it."

She could hear the eagerness in Marko's voice as they drew closer to the bonfire. Jeanne could see that there were four kids, none of them out of their teens. Their clothes were dirty, and their hair looked as if it hadn't been washed in days. They must be runaways. Jeanne could feel her fangs lengthen in anticipation of the bloodshed, and she pulled against both David and Marko.

"No!"

"_You have to do this Jeanne."_

Before the kids knew anything was wrong, David, Marko, and Soren were on them. Jeanne closed her eyes and covered her ears against the screams. She couldn't do it.

"_Jeanne, you must feed."_

"I won't do it!"

They couldn't make her do this. She heard struggling, and saw David dragging over the sole survivor. He was babbling, begging for his life. He'd been injured. Jeanne could smell the blood on him, and tried to back away.

"Do it, Jeanne. It will take away the pain."

"No!"

"It's what you are, Jeanne. You need blood to survive."

"Don't make me do this, David, I cannot!"

"Jeanne!"

He could feel the absolute revulsion for what they were doing, and it was winning out over the call of blood. David used his sharp fingernails to create a gash in the young man's arm. Jeanne hissed at him and backed away further. David grabbed her arm and pulled her close. She shrank away from his yellow-eyed gaze.

"Do it, Jeanne. You'll die if you don't!"

"I cannot do this, David!"

He let go of her arm only to grab her by the neck before she could react, and forced her head down to the wound. Jeanne tried to pull away, but he was much stronger than she, and he held her there.

"_Jeanne, you have to feed. It will stop the pain."_

His tone was pleading, almost desperate for her to act. It was a tone she'd never heard from him before. Her body ached for the blood that flowed just beneath her mouth. She shook her head, trying to break free of David's grip, trying to get away from that intoxicating scent. She couldn't kill the child.

David didn't understand why she was still resisting. The small amount of human blood still in her system wasn't nearly enough. By rights, he should be fighting to keep her from slaughtering everyone in sight, not trying to force her to feed. He pressed just the slightest bit harder, until her mouth came into contact with the boys bleeding arm. As soon as the blood touched her tongue, instinct took over, and she fed on her own. David relaxed slightly, now that she was feeding.

"_Good Jeanne. You're doing very well. Drink, love."_

Jeanne couldn't resist drinking, when the blood was flowing into her mouth, but she was by no means giving up. She waited until she felt David relax, until he was confident that he'd won this round, and in a burst of energy, took off before he could stop her. She ran down the surf, faster than she'd ever run before. She ran until she couldn't run anymore, and fell to her knees, chest heaving and out of breath. She stuck her fingers down her throat, fighting the gag reflex. She'd never purposely tried to make herself sick before. She was grabbed from behind, and pulled into arms of steel, before she could vomit up the blood. She didn't need to guess who'd followed her.

"_No, Jeanne! No."_

It was David, and he rocked her back and forth like a child. She started fighting back, going for all the sensitive areas she could reach.

"You fucking bastard! How the hell could you do this to me?!"

He was finally forced to let her go when her fist made contact with his groin, and she turned around and launched herself at him, still cursing him as she attacked. David didn't try to stop her. He didn't do anything except try to ward off the worst of the blows. He was thankful for his healing abilities. If he was human, she would have put him in the hospital. He thanked whoever might be listening that she didn't have her knife on her. He had no doubt that if she had, she would have tried to castrate him.

He let her pummel him for several more minutes, knowing she needed to let off some of her fury, before he finally decided enough was enough. She might be absolutely pissed at him, but she was still his fledgling, and his mate. He would take only so much. A fraction of a second was all it took for him to roll so that she was pinned beneath him.

"Jeanne, you have to stop this."

"You had no right to do this to me!"

She bucked, trying to toss him off of her, and he held on tighter. Gods, how he wanted her, furious as she was at this moment. She was defying him, spewing vitriol at him, and he wanted nothing more than to take her right there in the sand, even with Marko and Soren only a hundred feet away.

"You had no right," she cried brokenly, and he let her up, pulling her into his arms.

"_You are my mate, Jeanne. I had no choice. There are others in the area, who would kill you just to hurt me. I couldn't leave you human, an easy target for them. You're mine, and I won't lose you."_

"You don't own me just because I slept with you, so fuck off and leave me alone!"

His hold tightened when she tried to get up. He tried to kiss her, but she turned her head away. He sighed in frustration.

"You can fight me all you want, Jeanne. But you do belong to me, just as much as I belong to you. There is no going back."

"_David, we have to go. I can a group of Surf Nazi's coming up the beach. I don't think you want another slaughter with Jeanne right here."_

Marko was right. Jeanne could certainly use more blood, but David knew she wouldn't react well to another slaughter. She would have to get used to it, but he wouldn't push the point tonight.

"_We're coming."_

"_How is she?"_

"_Not good."_

David picked Jeanne up and flew with her to the cave. She didn't say anything to him as they flew, or when they landed. She silently let him carry her into the cave, into the main cavern. He set her on one of the couches, and she curled up on her side.

"Does it still hurt?"

"Not as much."

"Here."

David took off his coat, and held his wrist out to her. She looked at him, then looked away.

"_Take it, Jeanne. You need more blood."_

"No, thank you. I don't want any."

"_Jeanne—"_

"Please, David. Just leave me alone right now."

He started to refuse, but thought better of it. He didn't want to keep fighting with her, and he knew that if he pushed, they would end up going another round. He looked at his watch; it was only 10 pm.

"_Marko, stay with Jeanne. I'm going hunting."_

"I'll be back in a few hours. Marko will be here if you need anything."

He ran a hand through her hair, and gently caressed her face as he stood up. She showed no reaction to his touch, and he tried not to let her see how that hurt.

_She has every right to be angry. You knew she would react this way when you decided to turn her. Give her time to adjust, David._

He heard her quiet crying as he climbed out of the cave, and almost turned around.

"_Give her some space, David. I'll keep an eye on her."_

With Marko's promise to watch over her, David took off for the boardwalk. He and Soren would still search for the other vampires. He returned to the cave several hours later, to see Jeanne still on the couch, in the same position as when he'd left. She'd fall asleep. Feeling exhausted himself, he picked her up and carried her to bed. In the small cavern, with the curtains drawn, the light could not touch them.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Of course I don't own David, Marko, or anyone else in the movie. If I did, I wouldn't have to work for a living. But, if they weren't in the movie, they're mine, and I still have to work for a living. All reviews really are read, most are even replied to. **

"Jeanne? Are you sure you feel well enough to do this?"

If Celine asked her that one more time, she was going to throw the younger girl out of the house.

"_Calm down, you know she's just scared."_

"_I know."_

"_You okay doing this yourself?"_

"_Don't you start with me, Marko."_

"I feel much better, Celine. And I want to get this finished tonight."

They were in the master bedroom of the house, installing the heavy shades that blocked the sun on the windows. She'd decided, after the night at the Emerson house, and her resulting change in lifestyle, that regardless of what David said about her being his mate (and just what did that mean?), there wasn't a chance that she was actually going to live in that cave permanently. She was keeping her house.

"I just don't want you to get sick again."

To make things easier, Soren had altered Celine's memories of that day. She remembered Jeanne going off to the hospital, and Laurel Emerson taking her over to their friend Laddie's house so she wouldn't be alone. She was told and, aided by Soren, believed, that Jeanne had developed a very rare condition where exposure to sunlight caused the debilitating migraines that sent her to the hospital.

"As long as I stay away from sunlight, I should be fine. You know what the doctor said. Think of it like the children in that movie 'The Others'."

"Yeah, I know."

"That's why I want to get this finished. I'm tired of living in David's basement."

The only explanation they could give for why Jeanne hadn't returned home was that she had to get the house properly redone, so she was staying in David and Marko's basement. Again, thanks to Soren, Celine believed it.

"You could stay at the condo, Jeanne. We could hang heavy curtains."

"You know, I would say that was sweet of you, if I didn't think you were just trying to get my house. But I won't ask you to turn your life upside down just because mine is now so different. The condo is yours now. And this house will be perfect, once we're finished."

"If you're sure."

She could hear the relief in Celine's voice. Celine really did want her to be well, and she knew that offering the condo Jeanne had given her was the right thing to do. And some part of her did want Jeanne to stay with her; she was scared of being alone. But she didn't want to have to completely switch around her days and nights as Jeanne had to.

_I couldn't possibly give up my days at the beach._

Jeanne caught herself picking up her sister's thoughts and tried to turn them off. She really didn't want to know what Celine was thinking, but it wasn't quite working.

_She might as well be a vampire, since she has to live like this. No way I could do it._

Jeanne almost choked as she caught that thought, and Celine looked over at her, instantly concerned.

"Are you alright?"

"_Jeanne? Is everything alright?"_

"_I'm fine, Marko. Tell David he doesn't have to rush over here."_

"I'm fine, Celine. Do you think you could grab a cold drink from the kitchen? My throat is getting scratchy."

"_Liar."_

She could hear Marko laughing at her.

"_Shut up."_

Celine jumped up and ran downstairs, and Jeanne hurriedly finished attaching the curtains. She'd easily adapted to her newfound speed, and having to move normally around Celine was starting to grate on her nerves. Another reason not to live with her sister. She didn't think she'd be able to keep up the pretense of being normal.

"_Soren and I are coming over."_

"_Not while Celine is here."_

"_Too bad, so sad. We're coming."_

"_Marko, I swear by everything that I'm going to castrate you with my bowie knife if you don't stop bugging me."_

Marko seemed to think it was now his job to play the annoying little brother, since Jeanne had joined the family. He'd talked more in the last three weeks since she'd been turned than in the month she'd know him before. He seemed determined to cheer her up, especially after she fed. Or, more correctly, after David forced her fangs into some poor soul's throat, and didn't let her go until her victim was dead. She still refused to kill random people, and it was a constant fight with David over her feeding habits.

Celine still had not returned, and Jeanne wondered what was keeping her. It didn't take that long to grab a cold drink from the kitchen. She'd been thrilled that she could still eat and drink normally. Looking for her sister, Jeanne bounded down the stairs to see Celine on the phone. Celine hadn't heard her come down.

"I'll be there in about twenty minutes."

"Going somewhere?"

Celine jumped and turned around, a guilty look on her face.

"I'm meeting Laurel Emerson and Laddie down on the Boardwalk. I mean, you're feeling a lot better, and I haven't seen them in ages, and—"

"Celine, it's alright. Go join your friends. I'll see you tomorrow night, if you want to come by."

"I don't want to leave you alone, though."

"It's fine. Marko said he'd be by tonight, so I won't be alone."

"Awesome!"

Celine hugged her older sister, then quickly stepped back, as if afraid she might hurt her. She grabbed her purse and ran out the door before Jeanne could change her mind. Not two minutes later, Marko and Soren were in her living room, making themselves comfortable on her couch.

"No David?"

"No. We convinced him to go hunting. We found another fledgling last night, in the middle of a kill. We're seeing too many of them."

Soren had taken it upon himself to explain to Jeanne what was going on, since David hadn't been able to spell it out clearly. He tried, most of the time, to talk to Jeanne mentally, which she usually ignored. It was bad enough reading David's thoughts, she didn't want the more intimate connection. Not when she was still furious at him.

"I do love what you've done with this house, my dear. It's quite beautiful. I understand it was in a terrible condition when you first bought it."

"Yes, it was all but condemned before I started working on it."

She hadn't seen Soren since that night, and she preferred to keep it that way. She wasn't precisely thrilled that he now knew where she lived.

"Still so bitter. I would have expected that you were at least resigned to your new life by now."

"A single conversation with David would tell you that is a foolish expectation. Was there something you wanted, Soren?"

She knew she sounded like a bitch, but she really couldn't help it. Soren had been the primary promoter of the 'turn her first, ask forgiveness later' approach that resulted in her current situation.

"You would have ended up one of us, even if I wasn't here. You're mated to David. Even with his complete ignorance on the subject, he would have turned you eventually."

"You don't know that."

"Of course I do. But that's not why I'm here. Marko tells me you're still having difficulty feeding."

"Marko has a big mouth."

Marko just grinned cheekily at her. She ignored him, shutting her front door.

"You cannot go so long without feeding, Jeanne. It keeps you weak. Why won't you feed?"

Jeanne just picked up her drink and sipped as she sat in her chair, choosing not to answer them.

"Jeanne, this can't go on," Marko added. "You and David are fighting all the time, until it gets to the point that he has to force you to feed, and then you're fighting even worse."

"And this concerns either of you? Why?"

"Why won't you feed?"

She could feel Soren trying to connect with her mentally, and she threw up a block. He winced when he hit it, and glared at her.

"You cannot keep this up, my dear."

"You want to bet?"

"Jeanne, please. This is hurting David just as much as it's hurting you."

Damn. She didn't want to care that David was hurting. She wanted to hate him. Damn Marko for knowing which button to push. He had her, and from the smug look on his face, he knew it.

"I'm not like you, Marko. I'm not—brutal. You enjoy killing. Don't bother with the denials, we all know it's true."

Marko had opened his mouth to protest, and shut it, a sheepish grin on his face at being caught. Jeanne had quickly become an accomplished mind reader.

"Jeanne, it's what we are. A vampire has to have blood."

"Granted. But I bet that you never think about the fact that every time you have 'dinner', some tourist never makes it home to their family, or some runaway is never heard from again."

"You can't think about that, Jeanne, or you'll drive yourself crazy. You can't avoid feeding."

"I have to think about it, Marko. If I'd never met David, if you didn't know us, your dinner one night might have been Celine. She runs around this town, just as oblivious as the rest of them. I would say it was pure dumb luck that one of you didn't get her already."

There was no way to refute that. Much as Marko liked Celine (and he found the child very amusing), Jeanne was right. It was sheer luck that she'd escaped being his dinner before David met Jeanne. She was exactly the kind of target he would choose.

"Do you know, Celine was only four years old when my mother took her and ran away? My father searched for them for years, never able to let it go. Until the day he died, he kept searching for them."

"I didn't know that."

Jeanne looked at Marko in surprise.

"Really? I'm surprised you didn't pull all of those memories out of my head like David did."

"You're actually quite difficult to read, Jeanne. Only David can really read your thoughts with ease. Probably because you're his mate."

"A term no one has been able to sufficiently explain, by the way. But the point is that I know what it is to lose loved ones. God knows I've lost enough of them. I know the pain caused by not knowing what happened, the always wondering. I can't be the cause of that for someone else."

Well that changed things. David had thought she was refusing to feed because she was still angry with him, a thought shared by Marko and Soren. None of them had considered that she might have a real reason for not wanting to kill, apart from her human mentality against killing another person.

"That was never an issue. As I told the Frogman, it's ridiculous to blindly hate you just because you're higher up on the food chain."

"Okay, we really have to work on your control."

"What?" She looked over at Marko, confused.

"I didn't say anything, Jeanne. You're picking up thoughts again."

"Then stop thinking so loud."

Marko smiled at her. At any rate, she didn't seem so mad any longer. That was progress, at least. But that still left the issue of getting her to feed.

"If you didn't have to kill, would you feed?"

Soren was asking the question, and Marko looked over at him, wondering what he was thinking. He didn't want Jeanne to get her hopes up, then David would have to deal with it if it failed.

"Do you have another way? David insists on corpses."

'That's the only way, for him and Marko. But there might be another way, for you. You have a strong talent for reading thoughts. You might be gifted enough to manipulate them. If so, it may be possible to feed without killing. But it's a learned skill," he warned her, "you'll still need blood until you master it."

"Then I'll learn it. Anything is better being force fed every three days."

"You're his mate, my dear. What do you expect him to do, let you starve to death?"

"You keep saying that, Soren. I'm his mate. He turned me because I'm his mate, but what does that even mean?"

"It means that you're his partner. His equal. You temper him, balance him. You complete him."

Jeanne had to snort at the cliché.

"So you're saying it's the vampire equivalent of a girlfriend then?"

"No. More the equivalent of a wife. A spouse. It goes far beyond simply being lovers. It's a bond that lasts until death."

"No. No, no, no, no, no. This is too much. First, David makes me a vampire, and now you're saying I'm his wife? Enough is enough!"

"_Jeanne, what's wrong?"_

She could hear the worry in David's voice as he called her. He was picking up on her mental state, which was admittedly not good. It just went to show how overwhelmed she was that she actually answered him, instead of ignoring him as usual.

"_I never asked for any of this!"_

When he stayed silent, she knew he was sifting through her thoughts, her discussion with Soren and Marko.

"_I know you didn't. But I didn't either."_

She hadn't thought of that before, that David was moving into this as blindly as she was. He always acted so damned sure of himself, as if he was the master of the universe. She heard him laugh as he picked up that thought.

"_Not when it comes to you, love. Come down to the boardwalk."_

"_I'm not killing anywha----?"_

While she was talking to David, Marko picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder, and carried her out of the house.

"Let go of me before you drop me, you idiot!"

"Nope. We're going down to the boardwalk, so just hold on."

Jeanne did hold on as they flew through the night sky. She wasn't comfortable with flying, and didn't think she ever would be. She would much rather be behind the wheel of her car, or even on the back of David's bike, although she did have to admit that this method of transportation was much faster.

In no time at all, they landed in a secluded spot of the boardwalk parking lot. It took Jeanne a second to realize that Soren hadn't come with them. She didn't have the chance to wonder where he was, because David materialized out of nowhere. Marko didn't even set her on her feet, he just passed her over to David. David didn't set her down, either; he just put her over his shoulder and made his way through the parking lot, pushing through the crowds.

"_David, this is ridiculous. Put me down!"_

"_Not a chance. Not yet."_

They were drawing glances from the other boardwalk patrons, most of whom were making their way to the stage for a concert. David walked in the opposite direction, until he came to a stop in front of the comic book store, where he finally set her on her feet, Marko behind them.

'What are we doing here?"

"I told Star I'd bring you by so she could see you."

The older woman stepped out of the shop, looking nervously at David. He bit back an exasperated growl as Michael followed her out of the shop, and kept one hand on Jeanne's waist as Star approached.

"Jeanne?"

"Hello, Star."

"David."

"Star. Michael."

"_You can let go of me at any time."_

"_Not with the Frog standing in his doorway, holding a stake and staring at us."_

"_You can't blame him. He's always hated you, and now I'm sure he hates me. He blames you for his brother, you know."_

That was a surprise to David. He knew Edgar hated him, hated all vampires, but he had nothing to do with Alan Frog, whatever happened to him. They'd been gone for twenty years. What is it he was supposed to have done?

"Alright, you've seen her, and I obviously haven't hurt her. Anything else?"

"No. A deal's a deal."

Jeanne looked between them, confused, especially when Michael handed David a brown paper bag. What deal? David took the bag and herded Jeanne off, not giving her time to ask any questions. He took her through the crowds to his bike and climbed on, handing her the bag.

"Hold onto this," he ordered as the bike purred to life, and they drove off.

Jeanne recognized Hudson's Bluff when they finally stopped. The same point David had brought her to, almost four weeks ago, the night they'd made love. David took the bag from her, and they walked to the edge of the cliff. He helped her sit, legs dangling over the edge, then sat beside her, so close their shoulders were touching, and handed her the bag.

"What is it?"

"Just open it."

She did open it, and pulled out several bags of blood. She looked up at David in surprise.

"I'm not trying to torture you, Jeanne, though you might think so. If Soren thinks you can learn to feed without killing, then we can work on that. But you still need blood."

"You got the medic to give you blood? How?"

"He considers it his contribution to keeping the people of Santa Carla alive. Drink up, it's been a few days."

A fact they were both painfully aware of. Jeanne's fingernails lengthened, and she used one to puncture the top of a bag.

"Thank you, David."

She raised the bag to her lips and drank. David tentatively wove a hand through her hair, and was pleasantly surprised when she didn't pull away. If anything, she leaned into his hand as she drained the bag. She quickly moved onto the second bag, and then a third before she was satisfied. Finished, she leaned against David and looked out over the ocean.

_It's so beautiful out here._

"_It is. It's a good place to think."_

"_I haven't been here since-that-night."_

"_Neither have I."_

They sat silently, staring out over the water. David was content to stay that way, it was the first peaceful night he'd shared with Jeanne in awhile.

"_There's a reason for that, you know."_

David sighed, not wanting to get into another fight.

"_I had no choice, Jeanne. With these rogues running around, I couldn't take the chance of leaving you human. Not—"_

"_I know, David."_

"_You do?"_

"_I do. I'm tired of fighting you, David."_

"_I'm tired of fighting too. We should stop. I'm willing to call a truce if you are."_

"_Truce, but I'm keeping my house."_

"_Jeanne—"_

"David, you know we're going to still find ways to piss each other off, and when that happens I want my own place. Besides, with Marko sleeping right next to us, it does kind of limit the uses for the bed, wouldn't you say?"

Jeanne reached down and took his gloved hand in hers. She'd done a lot of thinking over the past weeks, and she'd boiled it all down to a simple conclusion: she didn't want to spend the rest of her immortal life fighting with David. It didn't accomplish anything other than putting them both through hell.

"_If I can feed without killing, I can live with the rest. For some reason, I need you too much to keep fighting, you smug bastard."_

She wasn't expecting it when he took them both to the ground and assaulted her mouth with his own.

"_I didn't mean right this second, you know."_

"_I've waited four weeks for this, Jeanne. You don't know what it is to wait like that for your mate."_

"_I don't? And just what do you think I've been feeling?"_

His hands moved from her waist up beneath her shirt, and she swatted at him.

"_I refuse to just go at it with you her on the cliff. Let's go back to the house."_

"_We're not going to make it that far."_

Before she knew it, he'd hauled her up and they flew back to the cave. It was clear that David wasn't going to give her a chance to change her mind. For now, she was fine with that. She wanted him as badly as he wanted her, something that hadn't changed in the last weeks. She just hoped that Marko had the sense to stay away for awhile.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I know it gets annoying, but insert general disclaimer here. If it was in the movie, I don't own it(though that would be frakin' awesome), but if it wasn't in the movie, it came out of my head (and yes, sometimes it hurt when it popped out). Reviews are much appreciated. I send imaginary chocolate chip cookies in return!!**

Jeanne scanned the crowded boardwalk, waiting for that person who screamed "dinner". After only four days of practicing, Soren had decided she was ready to try it on her own. David was following at a distance that could just barely be called discreet. He didn't want her alone, just in case this didn't work.

Her eyes landed on a man in a business suit, very unusual in this place. He looked around as if he was expecting someone who hadn't shown, and was incredibly annoyed. He couldn't more than thirty-five, if he was that old. He was definitely more the type of person Jeanne was used to spending time with than her new companions.

"You look a bit lost."

He looked at her, startled to be addressed. He actually smiled when he saw her.

"Not lost, just stood up. My client didn't show, unfortunate for him."

"Lawyer, then?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"Only if you know what to look for. I've known a few attorneys."

"I'm Jared."

Jeanne accepted the hand he extended.

"Jeanne."

"Jeanne. Would you like to get a drink somewhere?"

'That would be great."

She let him guide her along the boardwalk, knowing David wasn't far behind.

"There's a place just a little farther down the boardwalk that's really good."

When they were away from the crowd of people, Jeanne took control, leading the young man down a small alley between two buildings. She pushed him up against a wall and opened his collar and the top buttons of his shirt.

_I guess it's a good thing that fool didn't show up tonight. Wow, she's really good at this."_

Jeanne smiled as she placed small kisses along his collarbone, as she read his thoughts. This one was too easy. She heard David's growl in her head as well, and took pity on him, hurrying along. She could feel exactly what he felt, and if she didn't move it, she was likely not to have the chance to actually feed before David took this poor man's head off. Jared didn't see her eyes change color just before she sank her fangs into his neck.

When she'd had enough, she ran her tongue over the wound and closed it. She quickly altered his memory, removing his meeting of her and replacing it with the memory of his taking a walk after his client didn't show, getting himself lost.

"Hey, are you alright?"

"Huh?" He looked around as if confused, and then looked at her blankly.

"I think I'm lost. I was trying to reachthe parking lot, but I think I got turned around."

"I would say so, considering you're in an alley. The parking lot is straight down the boardwalk, just keep walking until you reach the end."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. You should be more careful, you never know who you'll run into out here."

He thanked her again and walked off, Jeanne watching him leave.

_I can do this!_

She heard David come up behind her and indulged in a girlie moment, spinning around and hugging him enthusiastically.

"_I can do this, David. I can really feed on people without killing them."_

David was glad it had worked. Until Soren had suggested that Jeanne might be gifted enough to alter memories, and therefore feed without killing, he'd despaired of ever living in peace with her. Their constant fighting had hurt him as much as it had her. He understood her reluctance; he could even admire the stance. After all, he'd been afraid that her humanity would disappear when he turned her, and it obviously hadn't. But although he understood, he was determined to see that she fed, even if it meant forcing her. He couldn't sit by and watch her starve. She hadn't wanted to understand his view on the matter, which just made everything worse. Those three weeks had been three weeks of pure hell. Having her righte there beside him, but not able to touch her, had almost driven him mad. Making an agreement with Michael Emerson had been worth it to have her forgive him, even if he did loathe the human.

"_Will that one be enough for you?"_ he asked as he wrapped his arms around her.

"_No, but I thought I would pick up another at the beach with you and Marko."_

"_Good idea. I know Marko's getting hungry. And maybe we can turn in early. I kind of like the idea of staying at the house tonight."_

"_Really?"_

"_Really. It's nice to have a place to ourselves."_

He'd had reservations about staying away from the cave, but had quickly warmed to the idea of not having to worry about Marko coming in at an inopportune moment. He was, as always, discreet, but accidents happened. He'd walked in on them twice in the last for days. And Jeanne was much more comfortable in her house than she was in the cave. David guessed it helped her to feel more human.

"_Turning in early sounds like a good idea. But I'm still hungry."_

"_Good, I'm starving. Let's try some seafood."_

They made their way from the boardwalk to the beach quickly, Marko joining them. Soren preferred to do his hunting in Santa Carla's higher social circles; he almost never joined them. He didn't need to; with his ability to alter memories he didn't have to kill to feed. David was thankful that Soren had stayed after Jeanne had been turned, rather than moving on. David would never have been able to teach her what Soren could.

"_There's a group partying about a quarter mile down the beach. They look tasty."_

Jeanne could practically hear Marko licking his lips in anticipation. When they reached the gathering, she scanned the group, deciding who would live. David and Marko would completely decimate such a small group; there were only five of them. Her attention landed on a girl who looked no older than fifteen. A man who was obviously much older, and drunk, had an arm around her waist, pulling her closer. The girl looked uncomfortable, as if she'd rather be anywhere else.

"_The girl."_

"_Alright. We'll wait until you get her out of the way."_

She knew David's eye was still on her as she walked up to the group at the bonfire. The girl was looking up at her, with an expression meant to warn her away. Jeanne picked through her mind as she got closer. Marissa. And she most definitely wanted away from there. The poor girl was a runaway. Her parents had died when she was fourteen, and with no other family, ended up in the foster care system. Her last set of foster parents had been intolerable, so she'd run away after only a month. She'd somehow made her way to Santa Carla, and was easily picked up by one of the unsavory elements that liked to pray on the lost. The man with his arm around her had bought her for three hundred dollars. He was her third owner.

_And the Frogman thinks vampires are the problem?_

Jeanne wanted to rip the man's head off herself when she saw the abuse this child had been through, and was only stopped by David's assurances that he and Marko would take care of it.

The man looked up at her as she joined the bonfire.

"You lost, sweetie?"

"Not at all. Come with me now, Marissa."

The girl looked up at her in surprise that she knew her name. Was that a hopeful look in her eyes?

'The bitch stays right here. I paid for her. But you can join us if you want."

His friends laughed, as if he'd just told the funniest joke, and they closed in on her. Jeanne didn't reply, she just used her strength to remove his hand from the girl and pull her to her feet.

"We're leaving now."

The man actually had the nerve to lay a hand on her. Apparently his drinking hadn't yet affected his reflexes, as he caught her by the wrist and tried to pull her down beside him.

"Uh-uh. You gotta take her place if you taker her away."

She slapped him across the face, and delivered a swift kick to his groin. She heard both David and Marko wince at that action. One of his friends tried to sneak up behind her, and she elbowed him in the gut.

"Come with me, Marissa."

She knew that David wouldn't wait any longer, not once the idiot grabbed her. This poor girl didn't need to see the slaughter, even if Jeanne did intend to alter her memories. Jeanne made sure to keep her pace slow enough to match the girl, who seemed to be having trouble with walking.

"He'll just come after me again. He paid some guy three hundred bucks for me."

"You won't have to worry about him any longer. He won't bother you again."

The girl looked confused, but followed Jeanne away from the bonfire. Jeanne waited until they were in complete darkness before she bit into the girl's wrist. She didn't take as much as she really needed; the poor girl was obviously malnourished. After a minute, Marissa passed out, and Jeanne had to catch her.

"_I'm going to take her to the Frogman. She'll need somewhere to go."_

"_Be careful. If he tries anything—"_

"_I'll be fine, David. I'll see you at the house."_

She really wished David had just let her drive to the beach, it would have been much easier, but no, he liked flying too much. Jeanne closed the wound on Marissa's wrist before lifting the girl's slight form and flying back to the boardwalk. While she was unconscious, Jeanne altered her memory so that she'd run away on her own, and met Jeanne on her way to the boardwalk. She couldn't erase herself completely, not if she wanted the girl to trust her.

"Marissa, wake up, we're here. And I'm getting tired of hauling you around."

"We are?" Marissa asked sleepily. She shook her head, trying to clear it, as she realized that Jeanne was indeed supporting all of her weight.

"Sorry. Where are we going again?"

"To see a friend of mine."

_Hopefully he won't stake me before I can explain._

When they reached the comic book store, Marissa's eyes immediately lit up and she quickly left Jeanne to browse. Edgar hadn't turned around from his shelf stocking.

"Hello, Frogman," Jeanne called him softly. He jumped and spun around as if she'd yelled, before the mask of indifference fell over his features.

"I'm surprised you'd come back here," he said calmly.

_Where the hell are the other two? If that bloodsucker goes back on his word, I'm taking him down with me. Figures they'd send her in as bait. Wait, David actually let her out of his sight?!_

"David and Marko aren't with me, Frogman. I come in peace, I swear."

"Let me guess. They're off causing death and mayhem somewhere?"

"Yes."

He blinked, surprised she actually told him the truth.

"Why aren't you with them?"

"I have no more taste for slaughter now than I did before."

"What happened to it being alright for bloodsuckers to kill?" he asked somewhat bitterly.

_She shows up now that it's too late and pretends she still has a shred of humanity? What does she take me for?_

"I didn't choose this, Frogman," she said quietly.

"Didn't you? You went off with them on your own, remember?"

"I had to go with them, Frogman, or they would have killed all of you. I couldn't have your deaths on my conscience, not when you were only trying to help me."

"Now you just kill strangers, whose death doesn't bother you."

"Not as many as you might think. I never had a habit of killing nightly, and now I can feed without killing at all."

"A vampire who doesn't like to kill? Oh, that's rich."

"Believe what you want, Frogman. I'm telling the truth. But that's not why I came."

'Then why did you come?"

"Do you still need help in the store?"

_What the hell? She wants a job? Is she on drugs?_

"Marissa!"

Edgar looked over at the young girl who was coming up the aisle, looking at him with clear distrust.

"This is Marissa, and she needs a place to stay, and some work. I know that you were looking for some one to help—"

Edgar looked closely at the girl. She looked to be no more than fifteen. However, she was so malnourished it was difficult to tell. He wondered where Jeanne found this girl.

"How old are you, Marissa?"

"Sixteen in three weeks."

"Good. Not too young to work. I could use some extra help at night. Think you could run a cash register?"

"I could."

"You're hired. I have an extra bedroom in my apartment if you need a place to crash."

Marissa looked at him, slack-jawed. She couldn't believe she'd just found a home, and a job. The strange woman she'd met on the road had just saved her life. She wouldn't have to live on the streets anymore.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you. You won't be sorry, I promise. I'm a hard worker."

She continued to ramble on until Edgar thought he might go mad.

"Make yourself useful. Get a copy of the house key made."

He handed her the key and some money, and she all but ran out of the store.

"Thank you, Frogman."

"Was she your dinner tonight?"

Jeanne nodded.

"She was down on the beach with four men. Men who were keeping her there involuntarily. One had even bought her from one of the sickos here."

Edgar's eyes narrowed.

"What happened to them? Will they be looking for her?"

"No. David and Marko are cleaning up the mess."

"Of course they are. More signs for the missing persons board."

"It is what it is, Frogman. But perhaps you might consider that we're not the only monsters out there. Thank you for taking Marissa."

"Why'd you bring her here? Why not just leave her on the beach?"

"She doesn't have any family, or anywhere to go."

_Unbelievable. A freakin' mother hen vampire._

"Goodbye, Frogman."

Edgar could tell from the tone of her voice that she'd picked up that thought, and was offended. She probably wouldn't come back to the shop again—

"Jeanne, wait."

She stopped mid-turn, and turned back to face him.

"Is David treating you alright?"

She actually smiled a small smile at that.

"He is. And Marko has become the most annoying little brother anyone could have."

Edgar didn't want to think about the possibility that the bloodsuckers might consider themselves a family. He didn't want them to seem even remotely human. By rights, he should want to stake Jeanne, simply for being what she now was. Unfortunately, the little voice in the back of his head reminded him that Jeanne had become what she was so that he and the Emersons could live. Because she'd chosen not to let David and Marko kill them.

"Good. You should-uh-drop in every once in awhile and check on your rescue pet."

"Her name is Marissa. Thank you, Frogman. I'd like that."

She smiled at him and left the store, making her way to the parking lot.

"_Jeanne? Is everything alright?"_

"_Everything's fine. I'm heading to the car now, I should be at the house in ten minutes. I'll see you there?"_

"_I have the fireplace already lit. I'll be waiting for you."_

She didn't really understand David's love of the fireplace, since they didn't feel the heat or the cold. She didn't complain, however. If David wanted to go to the trouble building a fire and dealing with it, she was happy to let him.

Jeanne didn't feel the blow to her head that sent her into the tree. It wasn't hard enough to knock her out, though it would have been if she was human. She shook her head, trying to clear it, and looked around warily. She wasn't alone.

"_Jeanne? What is it?"_

"_David-"_

She was hit again, this time more forcefully, which was enough to stun her into immobility. She was picked up and tossed over someone's shoulder, and before she could start fighting back, they were airborne.

_What the hell?_

* * *

Something was wrong, David knew it. Something had to be wrong for Jeanne to just cut off the way she did.

"_Marko. Soren."_

"_What's wrong?"_

"_Jeanne. Something's happened. She was leaving the comic book store. If that Frog has done something to her, I'll rip him to pieces with my bare hands."_

"_We'll meet you there."_

David didn't even waste time locking the house after he'd closed the gate on the fireplace. He flew directly to the boardwalk, his first stop the parking lot. Jeanne's car was still there, she hadn't driven anywhere. As he circled it, he found that he couldn't pick up her scent. She didn't make it to her car. By the time he reached the comic shop, Marko and Soren had joined him. Edgar looked up at the sudden wind blowing his comics everywhere.

"What the hell do you want?"

"What have you done with her?"

"Jeanne? I haven't done anything with her. She left not ten minutes ago."

David had Edgar against the wall before the other man could blink, his yellow eyes giving off a feral glow.

"She never made it to her car. Are you telling me you had nothing to do with that?"

"I haven't left the shop all night."

"Why don't I believe you?"

"Because you don't trust me anymore than I trust you, bloodsucker. But I'm not lying. Why would I hurt her?"

"Because you hate all vampires."

Edgar saw David's fangs extending, and braced himself when they broke the skin at his throat. This was it; he was going to die by David's hand. He didn't even have a stake handy.

"David, he's telling the truth."

Edgar grimaced. The strange one had obviously been in his thoughts. He dropped to the ground as David released him, and glared up at the angry vampire.

"I hate you, for what you did to Alan. But Jeanne saved my life. I wouldn't hurt her. I just took in her little pet, for the love of all that's holy."

"And just what am I supposed to have done to your brother, Frog?"

"Are you really going to pretend you don't know what I'm talking about?"

"Would I be asking if I knew?"

David's little patience was wearing thin. He was so close to snapping the fool's neck.

"You turned him into a bloodsucker, you bastard."

That brought David up short. Alan Frog was a vampire? And Edgar held him responsible?

"I never touched your brother, Frog. We left Santa Carla the night you tried to kill us all, and haven't been back in the States until three months ago."

"Bullshit! I know it was you! You wanted revenge for us taking out the rest of your gang!"

"We never thought of you after that night. And we damn sure didn't come back here just to turn your brother."

"She's not here, David. It must be the rogue coven. I say we hunt them down tonight."

David agreed wholeheartedly with Marko. They hadn't found this group yet, but with Jeanne taken, they would decimate the entire town if necessary to find her.

"Rogue coven?"

David ignored Edgar as he stalked out of the store. It was Soren who answered the human.

"There's another vampire in Santa Carla, trying to set up a new coven. Challenging David and Marko for supremacy here. They're responsible for your sudden rash of missing people, not us."

"Will David find Jeanne?"

"You'd better hope so. Otherwise, it will be an all out war. And you haven't seen carnage until you see an enraged vampire who's just lost their mate."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: If you saw it in the movie, I don't own it. If you didn't, it came out of my twisted mind, and it belongs to me. **

The first thing to catch Jeanne's attention was the low sound of voices, coming from somewhere around her. She couldn't tell whose they were. Cautiously, she opened her eyes and looked around. She didn't recognize anything in the dark room.

"We shouldn't have run that car off the road. He'll be pissed when he's told. And the other one, you saw his face when he saw the girl."

"Who cares about that? Frenchie was supposed to be mine, but someone's already turned her. He'll have to answer for that, He promised she was mine to turn."

Gradually, Jeanne could pinpoint the voices, but they were coming through the wall. They weren't actually in the room with her.

"_David? David, can you hear me?"_

"_Jeanne? Tell me where you are. We're coming."_

"_I don't know. I don't recognize this place. It looks industrial, from what I can see."_

The room was so dark that she could just barely make out the walls. They looked to be made of steel. As her vision, and head, began to clear, she saw that she wasn't alone in the room. A young woman was with her, cowering in a corner.

"Laurel? Laurel Emerson?"

Jeanne recognized the girl. Celine had begun spending a lot of time with her.

"Who's there?"

The girl looked around but didn't focus on her, and it finally occurred to Jeanne that she couldn't see in the pitch dark. Not surprising, considering that Jeanne was having difficulty adjusting to the blackness, even with her vampiric vision.

"It's Jeanne Laurent. Celine's sister."

"What are we doing here?"

"_David, the Emerson girl is here as well."_

"_Did you see who took you?"_

"_No. But I hear two on the other side of the wall. I don't know how many are actually here."_

"Jeanne?"

The somewhat desperate tone of her question made Jeanne realize that she'd never answered. Jeanne carefully picked her way across the room, trying not to further upset her still less than perfect equilibrium. Just how hard had she been hit? She slid down the wall to sit beside Laurel.

"I'm here Laurel. Can you tell me what happened? Where's Celine?"

She knew that her sister was supposed to be with this girl tonight. She hoped against hope they hadn't taken Celine as well.

"We were driving down to the beach when they came out of nowhere, and ran us off the road. They flew at us. How can anyone actually fly? It's impossible."

Jeanne got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, and it was warring with the anger she felt at the ones who'd taken her. Their car had been forced off the road?

"What happened then, Laurel?"

She could feel the younger girl shaking like a leaf, and laid a hand on her shoulder.

"We went over the railing, down the embankment. Then I don't know. I swear I saw Uncle Sammy, but that can't be. He's dead. Dad said he was dead."

"Laurel, what happened to Celine?"

She was starting to fear the worst. If Celine was alright, she would be here with Laurel, wouldn't she? Unless she escaped?

"She didn't make it," Laurel started to sob, and held onto Jeanne. "We landed upside down, and I saw Celine—she didn't move! I called and called her, but she didn't wake up! She was dead! I tried and tried to wake her up!"

Jeanne felt herself begin to go numb, as Laurel cried in her arms. Celine was dead? She'd finally lost the last of her family?

"_Jeanne?"_

She knew David would be worried at the sudden change, but she ignored him for the moment.

"How did you get here?"

"They pulled me out of the car. One of them bit me, and then he made me drink his blood! What's wrong with them? Why would anyone do something like that?"

"Do you know who it was?"

"Some of the Surf Nazi's, I think. But there was one that looked like Sam. But Dad said he died three years ago, it can't be Sam!"

Sam. So, Frogman had been telling the truth about his brother getting turned, and turning Sam Emerson. He was one of the vampires trying to take over Santa Carla, maybe even the head of this new coven. Would he really have run his niece off the road?

"How long ago was this, Laurel?"

"Maybe an hour. I don't know. As soon as we got back, they put me in here. They you came in just a few minutes ago."

"Did you see anything coming here? Anything to tell us where we are?"

She had to get some idea of where she'd been brought. Otherwise, David and the others could be looking for days. They didn't have that kind of time.

"We- we flew- away- from the beach. I don't know anything else."

"_Jeanne? Jeanne, answer me."_

"_Celine is dead, and Laurel doesn't know where we are, only that they went away from the beach."_

"_We're going to find you."_

Jeanne was startled from David's voice when the door opened, letting in a bright shaft of blinding light.

"_Jeanne?"_

"_They're here."_

She could make out three figures in the doorway, and they were looking directly at her. Jeanne returned the stare with a heated glare of her own. As she adjusted to the light change, she recognized them as the Surf Nazi's who'd slashed her tires.

"_Not these idiots."_

"_Jeanne, do you know them?"_

"_They're the fools who slashed my tires. But they can't be the leaders, the were still human when this started."_

"You're coming with us, Frenchie."

"I don't think so."

They entered the room, trying to look menacing. Jeanne heard Laurel whimpering beside her.

"Laurel? Are these the men who ran you off the road?"

She heard Laurel's barely audible 'yes' and felt a grim determination to extract her own justice.

"Either you come with us, or we'll make you."

"You can try."

She felt for her knife, but it wasn't there. They'd learned from the last time. This wasn't going to be as easy as she'd hoped. Oh well. She was furious; breaking some bones would feel almost as satisfying as cutting them to shreds.

"_Jeanne, be cautious. We'll deal with them once you're safe."_

"_These bastards killed my sister, David. I'm going to rip them apart."_

"_No! Don't do anything, Jeanne! You have to stay alive so I can find you! Don't do something stupid and get yourself killed! Do you hear me? I mean it, don't antagonize them."_

"_I can't promise I won't kill them if given the chance, David. I'm sorry."_

"_Jeanne, no!"_

She was hauled roughly to her feet, and bodily grabbed by one of them. Jeanne reacted instinctively, striking at his most sensitive spots. Human or vampire, ad kick to the groin still hurt, as well as a jab to the eyes. His grip loosened enough for her to break free and spin him around in front of her. She grabbed her knife sticking out of his back pocket. They'd been smart enough to disarm her, but this fool had kept her weapon for himself. Jeanne wasted no time in dragging the blade across her attacker's throat, then stabbing him in the heart. The other two threw themselves on her and tackled her to the ground.

"_Jeanne!"_

"Leave her alone!"

Jeanne vaguely heard Laurel yelling for them to stop as she managed to snap the neck of another of her assailants. Unfortunately, as a vampire, it wouldn't kill him. She was down to the final one, the one who'd grabbed her that day at the boardwalk, when three more vampires spilled into the room, pulling her off him.

"I should just let her kill you for being such an idiot, Seth."

Seth stood up, and wiped the blood from his face.

"We had a deal, Alan. She was mine to turn, but another of your newbies took her. I want them."

_Alan? Alan Frog?_

"She's not one of mine, you fool. And you're in no position to talk, since your boys ran that car off the road. That was never part of your instructions. Now, do you think you can bring her without getting hurt?"

Seth glared at her, but Jeanne just stared back at him. He reached a hand towards her face, and she kicked him, busting his knee cap. He slapped her full across the face, but she didn't flinch.

"You bitch!"

"You couldn't match me when were human, moron. What makes you think you're a match for me now?"

"You got lucky last time."

"Really? Have your friends here let me go and we'll see who got lucky."

Alan laughed out loud, startling Seth.

"I like this one. You finally bring me someone worth turning. But she's already been taken. Tell me, sweetheart, who sired you?"

"None of your damn business."

"Oh, but it is my business. This is my city, and someone else turned you. Now who was it?"

"This isn't your city. It's ours. And you will regret ever coming here and trying to take over if you don't let me go right now."

"You're spirited, I'll give you that. I might almost consider keeping you for myself."

"We had a deal Alan!"

"Such a shame. Bring her."

The one still holding her dragger her from the room, following Alan and Seth. Laurel was crying for Jeanne not to leave her, and the remaining vampire knelt beside her.

"It'll be alright, Laurel. I promise it'll be alright."

"You're not Sam! Sam died!"

Jeanne could hear him trying to explain as she was dragged down a hall. She paid attention to her surroundings, relaying details to David.

"_High windows, definitely industrial, perhaps a warehouse or factory? I can see the water tower just outside."_

"_Just do what they want, Jeanne. You have to stay alive until we can get to you. Do you understand me?"_

"_It's Alan Frog and Sam Emerson. They're the leaders of this group. One of the Surf Nazi's is already dead."_

"_You're sure it's Frog and Emerson?"_

"Shit, she's talking to someone. Shut her up."

Jeanne barely heard Alan's order before something made contact with the back of her head, and everything went black.

David fell out of the air, landing roughly on the ground. He'd lost the connection with Jeanne, and his head hurt like hell.

"_David?" _Marko called as he landed beside him.

"I'm fine. It's not me."

He stood up, dusting himself off.

"She's in an industrial building, near the water tower. Alan Frog and Sam Emerson are behind this."

"There are at least half a dozen industrial parks in that area. We'll never get them all searched before sunrise. We need help."

"We don't have time—"

David fell to his knees, holding this throat with one hand. Soren was beside him, concerned when he saw tears pooling in the man's eyes.

"David? David, what is it?"

"I'll rip them all apart, piece by piece! They're dead. They're all dead!"

"David? What is it?"

"It's Jeanne. I can't feel her anymore." Marko said soflty. Soren frowned, that could only mean one thing. She was gone. He had only a second to catch David's intentions and throw all of his strength into holding the younger man down. David tried to take off, and Soren slammed into him, knocking him back into the ground.

"They're dead! They're all dead! I'll burn this city to the ground!"

"No, David! We'll find who did this!"

Marko tried to reason with his brother, knowing in his heart that it was futile. He wanted to rip those responsible apart, slowly, piece by piece. He couldn't imagine what David was feeling.

"Marko, I need a branch, something sharp."

Marko looked at Soren incredulously. Was he really suggesting--? David tried to get up again and Marko hurried to find a branch sharp enough to do the job. He handed it to Soren who plunged it into David's chest, skillfully missing all the major organs. It wouldn't kill him, just immobilize him.

"Marko, go back to that comic store, and see if you can't convince that human to help us. He can check the buildings during the day while we sleep. I'm taking David back to the hotel. Have the human meet us there at sunset."

Marko nodded as Soren grabbed David's now stiff body and flew off, listening to David's mental curses and vows of revenge. Much as Marko hated to admit it, they needed help.

He was back at the comic store in only a few minutes, surprising Edgar when he walked back in. Edgar took one look at the young vampire and knew something terrible had happened.

"What--?"

"Jeanne's gone."

"No. You're sure?"

"She's my sister, Frog. I can feel her just like I felt Dwayne and Paul before you killed them! I can feel when she's gone!"

"Do you have any idea who's responsible?"

Edgar couldn't believe that anyone would kill Jeanne. It was too incredible.

"Your brother, and Sam Emerson. That's what she told David before she--- anyway, she said they also had the Emerson girl."

No. It couldn't be Alan, could it? And Sam? He'd seen Sam; in Luna Bay, they'd actually gotten into a fight, which had ended in a draw. Edgar had warmed his former friend to leave the country, or the next time he would be dust. Apparently, Sam hadn't learned that lesson.

"Was she sure it was Sam and Alan? Completely sure?"

"She saw them, Frog. There's no doubt."

Edgar sagged against the counter, looking up at the vampire.

"David?"

"Soren had to stake him. They're at Soren's hotel. We need to find where they're hiding, or David will destroy all of Santa Carla. That's where you come in."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Jeanne said they were in an industrial building near the water tower. You can check them during the day while we sleep. Then meet us at The Omni at sunset. Don't try to take care of it yourself if you do find them. Leave it to David. And you might want to let Michael know about his girl."

"How did they get her?"

"We don't know. All Jeanne told us was that they'd killed her sister, and taken the Emerson girl."

"I'll check the buildings as soon as the sun comes up."

Their best chance for finding them was during the day, when they were sleeping. Marko nodded, and Edgar watched the vampire leave before he called Michael Emerson to deliver the bad news. This was one of those times when he fleetingly wished he didn't know vampires existed. Ignorance would be such a comfort right now.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Usual disclaimers apply. Also, reviews make me update faster (normally)**

"Michael, you don't have to come in with me," Edgar tried to dissuade the older man.

"Are you going to say that at every building? If they have my daughter, I have to know."

They'd already checked two warehouses and a factory, with no sign of any vampires. This was the only other abandoned industrial building near the water tower. If they weren't in here, Edgar didn't know where else to look.

"Alright. Just remember, we don't attack if we find them. We go in, look around, and get out. We can't warn them anyone is coming for them."

Michael nodded his understanding, while Laddie looked on from the back sear. Edgar's claim that Laurel had been taken by some coven of rogue vampires hadn't been taken seriously, until they'd heard about the car going off the road. Then Star had tried Laurel's cell phone, nonstop, with no answer, and Michael was grudgingly forced to admit Edgar might be telling the truth. He'd insisted on joining Edgar in the search of the building.

They climbed out of the jeep and approached the building cautiously. If the vampires were hiding out, they would be asleep, but they didn't want to wake any of them up. As Edgar stated, their sole purpose was to see how many there were, and if they did have Laurel. They would wait to attack when they had David and the others with them.

They surrounded the door, and Edgar opened it. They moved carefully, flashlights in one hand and stakes in the other. They might not plan to attack, but they were definitely going to defend themselves should one of the bloodsuckers be awake. Not hearing any movement, they went inside and carefully walked the darkened halls. They could see through a large window into a large open area, but there was no one in there.

"I'm betting they're in one of the boarded up rooms."

Michael nodded, and they paced along until they reached the offices. Michael and Laddie started opening doors and checked the rooms. The first door Michael opened was empty, but he hear Laddie call them.

"Over here."

Michael and Edgar both joined him, and looked inside, careful to keep the flashlights aimed at the walls. No one wanted to shine a bright light in the face of a sleeping vampire.

"Shit. There must be a dozen of them."

It certainly looked that way, but Michael counted them. He wanted accurate information.

"Alright, I count seven of them. But I don't see Laurel. Or Sam and Alan."

"They must be in another room then."

They continued to make their way down the hallway, checking every room. Michael finally reached the end of the hallway, and opened the door to the last room. He put the flashlight in first, and looked around. His heart almost stopped beating when he saw his daughter lying on a large air mattress. Forgetting caution, he rushed across the floor to Laurel's side. She didn't stir when he brushed her hair out of her face.

"C'mon Laurel, wake up honey."

He froze when he realized that he couldn't find a heartbeat. There was no pulse, and she was cold.

"Laurel!"

A hand clamped over his mouth.

"Shh. Don't wake them."

Michael looked around as Edgar took his hand away. Laurel wasn't the only one in the room. Sam and Alan were on the other side of the room, asleep. Michael grabbed his stake, and Edgar and Laddie both had to hold him back.

"They killed my daughter!"

"She may not be dead!"

Edgar pulled a small mirror out of his pocket and handed it to Michael. Michael took it, and knelt beside his daughter, holding up the mirror. No reflection. She wasn't a corpse, she was a vampire. Michael tried to go after the two vampires again, and Laddie and Edgar had to drag him from the room.

"Not like this, Michael! We wait until sunset, when we have backup. We'll get her out of here tonight. It's not safe to try to move her with the sun still up!"

Michael wanted to ignore Laddie's logic, but he couldn't. If he tried to take Laurel out now, with the sun still up, there was a chance that she would become ash. And even if he managed to kill Sam and Alan while they slept, he would still have to leave his daughter in a nest of rogue vampires without a leader. Laddie was right. There was nothing he could do right now. He let Laddie and Edgar pull him into the van, and Edgar drove off.

"We only have a few hours until sunset. We get our stuff ready, and we meet the bloodsuckers at the hotel. And we're going to need fresh blood for Laurel, so whatever you have to do, get some. We don't want her trying to attack us in there."

"We'll be ready for that. I'm getting her out of there."

David rolled over, clutching his chest where Soren had staked him. Jeanne was gone. He still couldn't believe it. Those vampires were dust, and then he would turn his attention to the rest of Santa Carla. Soren wanted him to be satisfied with just killing the vamps that killed his mate, but David knew better. He could cover the city mayhem, until the streets ran red with blood, and it would do nothing to ease the loss. His mate was gone. Soren would never be able to understand that pain; no matter how many centuries he'd lived, he'd never bonded to a mate.

"_Jeanne!"_

He'd called for her all day, even though he knew it was futile. He'd felt their link sever. Then Soren had stake him, and he'd been immobilized. It was still embedded in his chest, keeping him from opening the curtains to the sunlight. He'd spent what felt like an eternity unable to move, screaming for his mate.

"David."

His mental screaming had woken both Marko and Soren. The pain of his loss was so acute that not even the sunrise could send him into the normally deep sleep of their kind.

"David, you must rest, so that you are ready at sunset. This is not what she would have wanted for you."

Every time his calling woke them, Soren would try to soothe him into sleep. It didn't work, at all.

"We end this tonight, David. You need your strength for that."

He didn't need rest, he needed blood. Being impaled had sapped most of his strength, and his tantrums throughout the day had finished off what was left. He desperately needed a drink, but Soren refused. Keeping David weak was the only way to keep him from acting hastily, endangering himself and everyone else. As it was, he couldn't summon the strength to do more than roll onto his side. He looked over at the clock on the bedside table. Less than an hour until sunset. Good. Then the humans would arrive, and they could find out were these rogues were hiding.

"_I need blood, Soren."_

"_As soon as the sun sets, you can feed. Try to get some rest."_

He couldn't rest. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Jeanne. He was going to take great pleasure in tearing Alan Frog limb from limb. He may not have turned Alan, as Edgar believed, but he was definitely going to be responsible for his death.

The time seemed to crawl indefinitely, but finally there was knock on the door. David heard Soren get up to answer it, but he was still unable to move. He felt three humans come in, and managed to look up at the m. The Frog, Michael Emerson, and was that Laddie? The kid they'd pulled into the group all those years ago? He must be Jeanne's age now, or slightly older.

"_Jeanne!"_

Both Marko and Soren flinched and turned to look at him.

"My God," Michael finally got a look at David, lying staked out on the bed.

'It was either stake him or let him destroy the city."

"_Get this out of me, Soren!"_

"Did you happen to bring any blood with you, medic? He's going to need it once I remove the stake, unless one of you wishes to be a donor."

"I'll get some."

David heard Michael leave, and tried to push himself to a sitting position. He failed miserably.

"_Soren."_

"_Wait until Michael returns with blood."_

"_Soren!"_

Soren ignored him, and turned his attention to the other humans.

"Did you find them?"

"We did," Edgar answered, and David tried to pay attention.

"We found the warehouse. All told we found ten vamps. One of them was Laurel Emerson. They turned her. We're getting her out of there."

"You can handle getting the girl out of there. Leave the leaders to us."

'"Alan is my problem," Edgar protested.

"_He's mine!"_

"I think David would disagree with you."

Edgar looked over at David, who still couldn't speak. The hatred in his eyes was warning enough, however, and Edgar nodded his agreement. Michael returned at that moment, with several bags of blood. David braced himself as Soren stood over him and took a grip on the stake, and wrenched it out of him in one swift move. Marko was immediately beside him, blood in hand. David bit into the bag and emptied it, then another, and a third. The three humans looked on in horrified fascination as the hole in his body began to heal. By the time he drained the fourth bag, he was on his feet and ready to kill.

"Where are they?"

They drove Edgar's van. David wanted to fly, it would have been faster, but they couldn't carry the humans with them. Soren had insisted they ride with their unlikely allies. Besides, David still wasn't up to full strength, though it increased throughout the drive. By the time they reached the warehouse, he was ready to get his hands on Alan Frog.

They pulled to a stop outside the warehouse, and David was out of the van before the engine was turned off. Soren and Marko were right behind him, with the humans bringing up the rear. They didn't waste time with subtlety, David ripped the steel door off its hinges and went inside. He was in the hallway for little more than a second before a vampire flew at him. It was neither Sam nor Alan, so he tossed him aside and continued. He could hear Marko ripping out the fledgling's throat as he continued walking. More fledglings attacked, one of them holding a knife. David simply ripped it's arm off as it swung at him, ignoring the howl of agony. He picked up the screaming vampire and held him against the wall.

"Where's your master?"

Another loud scream was his only answer. David dropped the soon to be corpse and kept moving. He paid no attention when Michael pushed past him, trying to find his daughter.

Sam grabbed Laurel and carried her down the hall, away from the sound of fighting. He took her up a flight of stairs, into an office that had been blockaded from the rest of the rooms. Seth looked up at their entrance.

"What are you doing? Alan said I could have some time alone—"

"You should never have brought that woman here. Her friends are looking for her, and they've found us. Because of your obsession."

He set Laurel down with a glare at the other male.

"It's safer in here, Laurel. I'll be back as soon as I can. Come on, Seth."

"I'm right behind you."

Sam shook his head in disgust at the other man, but left. He had to get back down to Alan, and stop whoever it was coming after them. If he'd stayed only a few seconds longer, he would have seen a long steel bar shoved through Seth's chest. Laurel screamed and covered her face with her hands.

"You're not going anywhere," Jeanne hissed in his ear as he gasped in pain, "and you're going to die for what you did to me." With that, she pushed the bar even further, using it to anchor him into the wall.

"Laurel, you won't want to see this."

Laurel obediently went to the other side of the room, as far away from them as she could get, and stood facing the wall, covering her ears with her hands. Jeanne grabbed the knife that was still edged with her blood, and pointed it in Seth's face.

"Now you can see how it feels."

Without further warning, she pulled the knife across his throat, slicing him from ear to ear. She could see that she had even severed the spinal column.

"That's for my sister, you murdering bastard."

Blood spurted as he tried to talk, and she grabbed her head between her hands, removing it from his body with one vicious twist.

"That was for me."

She took the knife and stabbed the body directly in the heart, then stabbed again, and again, taking some of her fury out on the corpse. She stabbed until there was little left of the torso, and blood covered her shirt.

"I'm leaving this place Laurel. You can come with me, or you can stay here."

Laurel turned around, studiously ignoring the mutilated body, and stared at Jeanne.

"How did you learn to do that?"

"My former father in law was ex KGB. He taught me a lot about self defense. Now are you coming?"

"Yes."

"Good. Stay behind me."

They left the room, and what remained of Seth, and carefully made their way downstairs, Jeanne still holding the knife.

"Laurel!"

"Daddy? Jeanne, that's my dad!"

Laurel tried to push past Jeanne, but the older woman held her back.

"Stay behind me, Laurel. You don't know who else is out there."

"Laurel!"

Michael pushed his way apst a young vampire, quickly staking him. So far he'd seen no sign of his daughter. Up ahead was Alan Frog and---

"Sam! How the hell could you do this!"

He launched himself at his brother, and tackled him to the ground.

"It's not what you think, Mike! She would have died! Her car had already gone off the road when I found her! "

Sam pushed his older brother off and got to his feet, dodging the stake Michael was trying to shove into his body.

"I swear, Mike! I wouldn't have done it if there was another way! It saved her life!"

"You shouldn't have come back here, Sam! Then she wouldn't be in the middle of all this! Where is she?"

"She's safe."

Sam had to jump away as Michael lunged with the stake again.

"Where is she, damn it?"

"Upstairs, away from all of this fighting. I can get her for you, if you put the stake down."

Michael made no move to do as Sam asked, and Sam lowered his hands. He didn't want to kill his brother, any more than he wanted Michael to kill him.

"She's my family, Mike. I love her as much as I love you and mom. I wouldn't have done this to her by choice. I couldn't let her die."

Michael slowly lowered his stake, staring at his brother.

"Take me to her."

"This way."

He followed Sam away from the sound of continued fighting.

Jeanne had to work to keep Laurel behind her as they made progress down the hallway. They'd already encountered two more vampires, and Jeanne had taken great pleasure in killing Seth's friends. Friends who had watched while he'd—never mind that. She needed to get Laurel to her father, and find David. She knew he had to be here.

"Laurel!"

"Dad! Jeanne, let's go. He's getting closer!"

Laurel tried to prod the older woman into moving faster, but it didn't work. When she tried to push ahead, Jeanne grabber her by the arm, and pushed her into the wall.

"Do you want to get killed before you reach him? Then stay with me."

She didn't know how many more might be waiting along the halls, hiding from the sounds of carnage. Hopefully they were busy with David and Marko, but she was taking no chances. She kept Laurel behind her, and the knife at the ready, until she could see two men coming towards them. One of them was human.

"Dad?"

"Laurel?"

Laurel broke free of Jeanne's grip and threw herself at the two men. Michael wrapped her in a crushing hug. When he saw Jeanne, his mouth dropped open in shock.

"You—you're supposed to be dead. David said you'd been killed."

"They think I'm dead?"

That was all she needed to hear. She left Laurel with her father and uncle, and took off running down the hallway, to the sounds of struggle.

David had Alan up against the wall, his hand around the other's throat.

"So you came back. I thought you were dead."

"It won't matter what you thought, since you'll be dead yourself."

Alan kicked at David, and fell to the floor once he was free. He launched himself at the other vampire, and David met him in the air, colliding. They growled at each other, fangs out, and David was slammed into a glass window. He landed on the floor after it shattered.

"Where are your friends, David? Or are you here alone? Did none of the others make it?"

"They're taking care of your fledglings. They'll be along shortly, but by then you'll be gone."

David picked up a large piece of broken glass and flew at Alan, embedding it in his shoulder. Alan roared in pain.

"You're going to die, slowly and painfully, for what you've done."

David grabbed one of Alan's hands and broke it, causing Alan to howl.

"I think you're over reacting to a bit of poaching on your territory. We were just having some fun, and didn't know you'd come back to this area."

"You knew damn well there was a coven her," David responded as he broke Alan's arm, "but that's not why I'm going to break every bone in your body. You killed my mate."

Alan laughed, a maniacal sound that made David shiver.

"She was yours, then? I'd wondered. She refused to name her sire. If she had, we may have been able to avoid all of this."

David punched the other vampire in the face, throwing all of his strength behind it. He had the satisfaction of hearing the bones shatter. Alan yelled, but with his shattered jaw, it was almost impossible to understand him.

"David!"

He spared a glance over his shoulder at Edgar, who was watching, horrified.

"Get out of here, Frog!"

"I can't let you do this, David!"

"Find Emerson and get them out of here, or stay and watch, but this ends now!"

"No David! You can't—!"

Edgar was cut off, and David looked up to see that Marko had grabbed the human, and was holding him in an unbreakable grip.

"If you don't want to be next, I suggest you shut up," Marko hissed in Edgar's ear. He pulled out a knife and handed it to David, who smiled malevolently at Alan.

"I thought we'd try skinning you alive. It'll be interesting to see if it grows back."

Alan's eyes widened and he let out an inhuman scream as David picked up his broken arm and brought the knife down on it.

"David don't!"

David froze in shock. He couldn't really have heard—he felt a hand on his shoulder, stilling his attack. A fine tremor settled through his body as he looked up.

"Jeanne? How?"

"You must stop, David."

"But—how is it—why can't I feel you?"

Jeanne gently detached Alan's arm from David's grip, and removed the knife.

"Kill him if you must, but he doesn't deserve this torture. He didn't do this."

"You're alive?"

She was kneeling beside him, and he still couldn't believe she was alive. It shouldn't be possible. Their connection had been broken, that had to mean death, but she was right there next to him. Michael, Sam and Laurel filed into the room and stopped when they saw Alan on the floor. Seeing that David was distracted, Sam attacked, tossing David across the room, into Marko. By the time they two of them got to their feet, Sam was gone, Alan with him. When David tried to go after them, Jeanne stopped him.

"Let them go, David."

David didn't answer; he just pulled her into an embrace, his grip crushing. She couldn't get out of it if she wanted to. He wouldn't let her go again.

"David."

He growled in warning when she tried to pull away. She looked up at him, trying to maintain eye contact with him.

"David, I'm right here."

He finally looked at her with eyes that were no longer red rimmed.

"How is it that you're right beside me, but I can't hear you or feel you? What's going on?"

"It's a long story, and I'd prefer to get out of this place."

"Let's go home."

He picked her up and headed for the door, Marko right behind him.

"Wait."

He turned at Michael Emerson's voice, and looked at the human.

"Take Laurel with you. She needs to be with her own—"

"Daddy? Daddy, no."

"It won't be safe for you at home, honey. We can't take care of you like they can."

"I don't want to go with them! I want to go home with you and mom! Please don't send me away Dad!"

Laurel started crying, burying her head in Michael's shoulder. He hugged her tightly. If she'd been human, he would be suffocating her. He looked over at David.

"Are you sure?" David asked quietly. Michael nodded.

"There's too much she needs to learn. To live—it can't go back to normal, can it?"

"No. If she's full, there's no going back."

Marko let go of Edgar, and stepped over to the pair. He was careful, when he grabbed her shoulders, not to grip too tightly. She clung to her father even harder when she felt him let go, and another put his hands on her.

"You have to go with them now, honey. We'll see you in a few days, but right now you have to go with them."

"No, daddy! Please no!"

Michael dropped a kiss on her head, and nodded to Marko. Marko picked the girl up as if she weighed no more than a dried leaf, ignoring her pleas and tears. It was time to go home.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: So, this is the final chapter! At last! I feel fairly certain I'll do a sequel, it's already rolling around in my head, depending on how people feel about this one. If I get enough of a demand, I'll try to spit it out onto paper. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far!**

Chapter 11

Laurel was still crying when they landed in the cave, holding onto Marko with all of her strength. Marko had to pry her hands loose from his neck.

"It's alright, kid."

He could tell that she was weak; she probably hadn't fed at all if she'd only been turned the night before. He felt bad for the girl. She looked so fragile, and was even younger than he was when turned. How would this kid ever make it as a vampire?

David flew in right after him, holding onto Jeanne, Soren following them. Marko let go of Laurel; she took one look around and immediately ran for the exit. Soren was there to stop her, and he carried her over to a couch before setting her down. She took a swing at him, and missed.

"It is truly inexcusable how weak you are. Marko, see if you can't find something nearby for our new addition."

Marko flew off to do as Soren asked, while David gave Jeanne a quick inspection. Something was terribly wrong; he couldn't feel her. Something horrible had been done to her, and he wanted to lash out at those responsible.

"_David, you're no good to her in this state. You have to calm down so we can figure out how to fix the problem."_

David tried to do as Soren asked as he sat on the couch, pulling Jeanne down with him.

"What happened, Jeanne?"

"They started recruiting those damned Surf Nazi's, and unfortunately they chose the ones I'd had problems with before. Apparently one of them carried an unhealthy obsession with me, and wanted me for himself. That's why I was taken."

David didn't realize he'd vamped out until he saw the Emerson girl cringing away from him, and he felt Jeanne's hand on his face.

"I'll kill him."

"I already did. When they discovered I had already been turned, he tried to sever my connection with my sire. The bastard slit my throat to drain me, then force fed me his blood."

She shuddered just thinking of it. And his other actions—something must have showed on her face, because David once again vamped out.

"Did he do anything else to you, Jeanne?" Soren asked the question David couldn't.

Jeanne closed her eyes against the remembered violation. The feel of someone moving inside of her, brutally thrusting against an unresponsive body, seeking dominance in every way. Her arms were pinned above her head, cuffed to the bed, so that she couldn't even fight him off once she was lucid enough to realize what was happening. At the moment, she was glad her connection to David was broken, so that he couldn't feel what she felt.

"He did," she finally said, unable to explain any further. Marko chose that moment to return, two young girls following him.

"This place is so cool!" one of them was cooing at Marko. David rolled his eyes, but said nothing. He could see that Jeanne needed blood almost as badly as Laurel did. Laurel tried to get up when Marko brought one over to the couch and sat with her, but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down. David was on the other girl in an instant, holding her for Jeanne.

"David, no. Not like this."

"No arguing, Jeanne. You're not up to going hunting. You need blood now."

When Jeanne made no move to drink, David bit into the girl, drawing blood. The metallic scent filled the cave, and David could see Jeanne inhale sharply, and lean away. He drank, filling his mouth with blood, then kissed her before she could guess his intentions. As soon as the fresh blood hit her tongue she was lost, and she fell on the poor girl. Once Jeanne was feeding on her own, he looked over to see how Marko was faring with the Emerson girl.

Marko had her meal by the neck, urging Laurel to drink. Soren was holding Laurel, who was screaming hysterically.

"You must do this child. It is how we survive," Soren was doing his best to coach the girl, but she was fighting both his words and his hold.

"I can't!"

"You don't have a choice kid. If you don't feed, you'll die. It's easy once you start."

Marko held the human girl's wrist out Laurel, and she slapped it away. David touched the girls mind' she was almost irrational with fear. This was even worse than Jeanne's turning. Hearing movement behind him, he turned to see that Jeanne had dropped the now lifeless body and joined Soren. She gently laid a hand on Laurel's arm, and the girl seemed to quiet under her touch.

"Jeanne—"

"There really is no choice, Laurel."

Jeanne took the human's wrist and bit into it, then offered it to Laurel. With the blood flowing freely, the new vampire couldn't resist any longer. She grabbed the offering and clumsily bit at the wrist, trying to sink her fangs in. As long as Jeanne stayed nearby, Laurel was calm. Marko let the young girl finish the human off, then carried the body outside. The ocean would dispose of the humans for them. He returned and took the other corpse from David. When he finished dumping the bodies, he returned to find Laurel crying in Jeanne's arms.

"I want to go home!"

"This is your home now, Laurel. You can't go back to what it was before."

"I want my mom! My dad!"

"Right now, you're too dangerous to them. You could kill them without meaning too."

"I would never hurt them!"

"Not on purpose. But it would be very easy to forget your strength. There is a lot you need to learn."

It was clear that she wasn't listening to anything Soren tried to tell her. David shook his head. This wasn't going to be easy.

"_What they did to her—she won't trust any of us easily."_

"_She trusts Jeanne, David."_

"_She can't spend all her time with Jeanne. When the sun comes up, Jeanne comes with me. The kid isn't going to change that."_

"_Perhaps you should let the women stay together for the first few days."_

"_I can't."_

He said it simply. It wasn't a whine, or a necessity to control, it was a simple statement of fact. He couldn't let her out of his sight. Not when he could no longer touch her mind. He had to keep her with him, be able to touch her, hold her. Not having her with him when the sun rose wasn't an option.

"_Very well. You should stay here with her then. No running off to have her house to yourselves. The child will need her. And I think she will need the child as well, now that her sister is gone."_

David didn't like to admit it but Soren had a point. He wanted to take Jeanne to the house, we wanted to be alone with her, but that would be a mistake. The girl wouldn't handle being alone with Marko.

"_We'll stay here for now."_

"_Good."_

The sudden silence surprised him, and he looked back at Jeanne to see that Laurel had cried herself into exhaustion.

"Why don't you put her in bed, Marko, and let her get some sleep."

Marko picked the girl up and carried her into the smaller cavern. Jeanne stood and walked out of the cave without looking at David.

"Jeanne."

She didn't answer him. Soren put a restraining hand on his shoulder when he would have followed her.

"Give her time, David."

"But-"

"She won't go anywhere. She just needs time. The sun won't be up for a few hours, she'll be fine."

David waited for Jeanne to come back down, but when the sun was due to rise in half an hour and she still hadn't made an appearance, he went up to check on her. His relief at finding her seated on the edge of the cliff was immediate. She didn't answer when he called her, so he made his way over and sat beside her.

"Jeanne, you should come in now. The sun will be up soon. What are you doing out here?"

"Thinking."

"Do your thinking tomorrow night. Now it's time for sleep."

"I can't do this David."

What? What couldn't she do? Was it about the mortal he'd just made her kill? Or her sister?

"I can't read your thoughts, Jeanne. You have to talk to me. What is it?"

"I can still feel him, in my head. I know there was nothing left of him, not after what I did, but I can still feel that connection. You have to reverse this."

"Reverse it? No, Jeanne. No."

He couldn't—what she was asking of him. It was a miracle she'd survived it the first time. He couldn't do it to her again.

"David—"

"It could kill you Jeanne! Draining you again could kill you! Don't ask me to risk your life!"

"David, I cannot live with this! The loss of you, the connection to him! I can't do it! If you won't reverse it, I will stay here and meet the sunrise."

"No!"

David grabbed her roughly and hauled her to her feet. She couldn't even think about ending her life. She couldn't leave him. He wouldn't allow it.

"David—"

"No, Jeanne!"

"I'm serious David! It's enough that I have to live with the knowledge of what he did to me, to live with those memories. I will not live with a bond to the very ones who killed my sister. Surely you can understand that David."

He shook his head in denial. He would not try to understand something that would take Jeanne away from him. Especially not when he'd just gotten her back.

"Jeanne, there isn't a chance I'm going to—"

"David, you have to listen—"

"No! I can't lose you again, Jeanne. I can't. Now enough of this lunacy, the sun will be up soon."

"David, did you not hear me? I'm not going back with you if you won't do this."

"Jeanne, you don't know what you're asking." He let her go and started pacing. "I don't know how you survived it the first time. You should have died. I've never heard of anyone who survived such a thing once, and certainly not a second time. I can't risk killing you when I just got you back!"

"David please! You have to do this for me."

His argument stopped when he saw her face. She looked—lost, defeated. Whatever had been done to her had damaged her, in some way David couldn't understand. There was something fading in her that he couldn't reach. No matter how they'd fought, she'd never looked this way before.

"It could kill you," he said simply.

"It won't. I trust you, David. And Soren is here to help, of needed. Please."

David nodded once, not looking at her.

"_David, this is a bad idea. You know what happened when you thought she was dead. If this fails—"_

"_If it fails I expect you to send me after her."_

He extended a hand to Jeanne, and led her down back to the cave. He didn't need to hear Soren's protests, or Marko's. He knew that Jeanne likely wouldn't survive this attempt, and if it failed, he wouldn't survive either. If he had to walk out into the sunlight himself, he would do it.

"_Marko, get the bottle, and the blood Emerson brought by. We'll need it."_

"_David—"_

"_Marko, just do it."_

He shut them out as he helped Jeanne down the steps to the cave. He couldn't listen to their arguments if he was going to be able to force himself to do this. Jeanne held onto his hand as they walked, well able to read his reluctance. She knew he didn't want to fulfill her request, just as she knew that if he didn't she would go mad. She trusted David and Soren, and she trusted that between the two of them, she would survive this. Marko and Soren were waiting for them, and she looked at David when she saw what Marko was holding.

"If you had those, why force the girl?"

"Michael brought them over almost two hours ago. You never noticed his arrival?"

"No."

David squeezed her hand tighter. She'd not even noticed a potential threat while she sat outside. What if it had been Sam, or Alan come after her?

"You don't have to do this, Jeanne. Not after everything you've already been through. Think about it."

"I have thought about it, Marko. I have to do this, or I'll—I have to get him out of my head, or I'll go mad."

"Are you sure, Jeanne?"

"Yes, Soren. I'm sure."

She was surprised when David grabbed her shoulders, and gave her a last desperate kiss, but she returned it. She knew he was afraid he might not get to do this again. When he broke the kiss, he pulled her down onto the couch with him.

"Jeanne—"

"I trust you, David."

Without another word, he sank his fangs into her throat, drinking her blood, consuming it as one would consume water after a week in the desert. He drank until he could feel her hear slow, and pulled away. He quickly bit his own wrist and held it to her mouth. He could feel himself vamp out when she didn't drink.

"C'mon, Jeanne. C'mon"

She didn't move, at all. David let his blood fill her mouth, then he clamped her jaw shut. She didn't swallow it, so David massaged her throat until the blood went down as she swallowed convulsively. Once the first mouthful was down, David pressed his wrist to her lips again. He looked down when she still didn't drink, and saw that the wound had closed.

"Marko, the bottle."

Marko handed him the bottle, and he poured blood into her mouth, repeating the process of making her drink. After the second mouthful, David thought he saw her eyelashes flutter.

"C'mon Jeanne. You have to wake up for me now."

If it didn't work, if they couldn't get her to come around—

"It will work, David. Look at her.:

Her eyes were moving beneath the lids. He poured more blood into her mouth and gently ran his hand down her throat. She swallowed much more easily, and opened her mouth for more. David bit into his wrist, reopening the wound, and held it up to her lips. This time, she latched on and began drinking on her own.

"That's it, Jeanne. Drink, love."

She drank, taking more and more of David's blood into her body. She was getting close to draining him, but it was working. David was beginning to feel her again.

"_Enough, Jeanne."_

She didn't respond, she just continued drinking.

"You must stop now, Jeanne. You don't want to kill David, do you?"

Soren was there, gently detaching David's wrist from her fangs. She looked around the cave as if confused.

"_David?"_

David could almost cry with relief. He'd been afraid he would never hear talk to him mentally again. He pulled her into his arms, and started planting kissed in her hair.

"_I thought I'd lost you. Don't ever put me through that again!"_

"_Don't worry, I'm not planning on it."_

"David, you must replace the blood you gave Jeanne. And I must get back to the hotel before the sun rises."

"My house is closer, Soren. You can stay there if you wish."

"Thank you my dear. I will see you tomorrow night."

David accepted one of the bags from Marko as Jeanne made the offer, and tore into it greedily. He hadn't realized just how close she'd come to draining him. He went through two more before he was satisfied.

"Well you two, it's almost sunrise, and I think it's time to hit the sack."

"Marko, where did you put Laurel?"

"She can stay with me for today. It might help her if she doesn't wake up alone."

"Maybe I should stay with her for the first few days."

"_Not a chance. I'm not letting you out of my sight, Jeanne. The kid will be fine with Marko."_

"_David, I think—"_

"_You think too much."_

David picked her up and carried her back to the small cavern.

"Marko, we'll see you tonight."

He ignored Marko's smirk as he set Jeanne down on their bed and followed her in, pulling the curtains closed. He easily shed his clothes in the dark and tossed them onto the floor, before settling in and pulling Jeanne into his arms. For the first time in a very long time, he felt that he was home.

_FIN_


End file.
